The John Stark baseball team was off the radar before the season began. But after Monday’s 8-1 win against Hanover, the Generals are 9-2, and records like that are hard to keep secret.
“In my mind I thought we could have a season like this, but I might have been the only person in the state of New Hampshire that thought it,” said Dennis Pelletier, now in his third year as Stark’s head coach. “The kids believed they could do it, but as I saw the season preview I didn’t see anyone mention John Stark. That’s all right, I kind of like being in that role, but people are starting to take notice.”
And the first thing they notice is Egan Nickerson. The senior is 5-0 with a 0.42 ERA after giving up just two earned runs in 33 innings. He also has 39 strikeouts against a scant three walks. In his complete-game, 3-0 win against Lebanon in the season opener, Nickerson threw 79 pitches and 70 were strikes.
“The thing with Egan is his control,” Pelletier said. “He can hit the mid 80s with his fastball. He’s not going to blow you away on the radar gun, but I think if he gets to college and focuses just on pitching, that could happen. He’s got real fluid mechanics, he’s about 6-2 and he’s a very good athlete.”
Nickerson has also found his stroke at the plate this year and leads the Generals with a .462 average, and he has a team-high 12 stolen bases. It’s been an impressive season for sure, but the Generals are not a one-man show.
Five of Stark’s regulars are hitting over .300 – Leif Mailloux (.379), Derek Goldrick (.353), Jeremy Aubin (.344), Callahan Loos (.323) and Nickerson – and Noah Greene is hitting a solid .280. Mailloux leads the team in OPS (1.245) while Goldrick leads in RBI (12) with Aubin right behind him (10).
Loos ranks second on the team in starts and innings and he was on the mound Monday. The senior pitched six innings, giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out seven and walking two. Wesley Lamphere pitched the seventh and worked around two errors without allowing a run.
Lamphere has been another key for the Generals. He’s their primary reliever and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 8 innings of work.
“He’s very deceptive,” Pelletier said of Lamphere. “He keeps the ball in the high 70s and his curve ball is about 10-15 (miles per hour) slower than that. He’s got a very different kind of motion.”
Stark struck in the first inning against Hanover (3-8) when Nickerson doubled and then scored on a double from Goldrick. The Generals added three more in the second on a two-run double from Loos, who came home himself on a triple from Mailloux.
Hanover scored in the top of the third, but Stark responded with three in the bottom half of the inning when Aaron Robertson, Caleb Morrison and Loos (2-for-4, three RBI) all had run-producing doubles. Mailloux (2-for-4) scored the final run when he came home on a sacrifice fly from Aubin in the sixth.
The Generals travel to Lebanon (4-8) on Wednesday before hosting Goffstown (10-3) Friday. Stark has only beaten one team with a wining record (Kingswood, 7-5), so Friday’s contest against the Grizzlies looms especially large.
“And they’re out next-door neighbor,” Pelletier said of Goffstown. “They’ve always been a big power and we’ve always been the little guy, and they’ve kind of beat up on us, so it will be an opportunity for us.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341, tosullivan@cmonitor.com or by Twitter at @tosullivan20)
From coaches’ reports
Merrimack Valley 5, Plymouth 4
Key players: MV – Brian Nylen (CG 6-hitter, 6 K; 2-for-3, RBI), Cole Laliberte (2-for-3, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Nylen scattered six hits and Laliberte blasted a two-run double in the third to give the Pride a 4-0 lead. Joe Dougherty’s squeeze bunt added the winning run in the fifth. The Bobcats rallied for three runs in the seventh, but a running catch by rightfielder Robbie Rattee ended the game with the tying run on base.
Coach’s quote: “Nice to get one in the win column. Playoff hopes are still alive but we need to go on a bit of a run now.” – MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: MV 3-10; Plymouth 2-10
Lebanon 5, Pembroke 4
Key players: Pembroke – AJ Gagnon (four shutout innings), Jared Murray (3-for-4)
Highlights/key moments: Gagnon pitched his way out of two bases-loaded jams early, keeping Lebanon off the board until the fifth inning, but four Spartan errors in that frame gave the Raiders a 4-0 lead and an insurance run in the sixth pushed it to 5-0. The Spartans rallied thanks to hits from Murray, James Fisher and Cole Hapgood, but Pembroke’s rally fell short. Gagnon, Quinton Paquin and Connor Locke allowed a combined seven hits, three walks and struck out 10 batters.
Records: Lebanon 4-8; Pembroke 2-10
Bishop Brady 10, Franklin 4
Key players: Bishop Brady – Tom Blandini (7 IP, 2 ER; 3 hits, 3 RBI, 3 runs), Mario Fusco (single, double, triple, 3 RBI), Max Lamore (2 hits, RBI, run)
Highlights/key moments: Brady scored two runs in the top of the first and another three runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run triple by Blandini. Franklin responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Brady scored five runs in the fifth to put the game away.
Coach’s quote: “The conditions were tough. Tommy battled for seven innings. We made him work harder than we should have with two unearned runs, but we swung the bats again and we needed to, because Franklin hung tough and kept battling the entire game.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Bishop Brady 6-5; Franklin 5-5
Bow 4, Hopkinton 3
Key players: Bow – Brendan Winch (pitched complete game for the win), Conner Lorenz (2-for-4, walk-off double), Austin Beaudette (2-for-3); Hopkinton – Ben McManus (6 K, 5 hits, 0 BB; 2 hits, double), Alex Lajeunesse (2 hits), Kyle Slevira (2 hits), Kolin LaPage (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons trailed 2-0, but tied the game in the fourth and broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh with Lorenz’s walk-off double in the bottom of the inning.
Coaches’ quotes: “Both teams played a good game. (Hopkinton was) hitting the ball well. We weren’t as sharp with the bats, but we did enough.” – Bow assistant Dennis Ordway
“It was one of our better offensive games of the season and Ben pitched his best game of the season, but we made a couple of errors that led to some unearned runs.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Bow 9-3; Hopkinton 3-8
Pinkerton 14, Concord 4
Key players: Concord – Brad Hicks (goal, assist), Tanner Rollings (goal), Brendan Pearl (goal), Chris Cummings (goal), Ethan Donlon (22 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Pinkerton continued its dominant run atop the Division I lacrosse standings with its 15th straight win of the season. Concord has lost three of its last four games.
Records: Pinkerton 15-0; Concord 6-7
Gilford 9, Coe-Brown 8
Key players: Coe-Brown – Liam Taylor (3 goals, assist), Ben Watson ( 2 goals, assist), Ben Heyliger (2 goals), Sam Godwin (goal, assist)
Highlights/key moments: Coe-Brown was dealing with the loss of two goaltenders going into the game and, despite falling behind 6-2 at halftime, was able to tie it 8-8 with two minutes left. The Bears had possession and took a shot which bounced off a defender and rolled towards midfield. A Gilford player scooped it for a fast break and scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes to go.
Coach’s quote: “We started flat and it just took a lot to get going. This was a heartbreaker because we were in it until the very end.” – Coe-Brown’s Ryan Hanavan
Records: Coe-Brown 2-8; Gilford 3-9
Pinkerton 3, John Stark 1
Highlights/key moments: Pinkerton took advantage of a slow start by the Generals, winning the first two games 25-7 and 25-16. Stark won the third game 25-19, but Pinkerton was able to take a late lead and won the match, 25-17.
Coach’s quote: “Pinkerton is a solid team, both offensively and defensively, and they capitalized on every mistake which put us into a hole from the start. Once we dialed up the energy level, the pieces started to fall into place and we played some good volleyball. Going forward, we need to come out of the game with that intensity.” – John Stark’s Dave Simeone
Records: John Stark 7-6; Pinkerton 9-3