One was a converted catcher recovering from a nasty injury over the summer making his first appearance on the mound. The other was a young sophomore looking to solidify his role for the Concord baseball team this season.
Together, Jake Kelly and Eric Sullivan found a way. The duo tight-roped around self-induced mistakes and pieced together seven quality innings, helping Concord survive a blustery afternoon at White Park against Bishop Guertin on Thursday with an 8-6 victory over the Cardinals.
“We talked and I said to Jake and Eric just now, ‘You guys pitched well. They really didn’t hit you too hard but you guys got yourselves in trouble and we’ve got to cut the walks,’ ” Concord Coach Scott Owen said following the Tide’s second win in three days. “It’s the first time that both of them have pitched against live batters in an outside situation … so I’ll take that.”
Kelly, who caught for Concord last season and is still rehabbing an elbow injury, started for the Tide and lasted 4⅓ innings with five walks and three strikeouts. After the Tide spotted him a 5-0 lead in the first, Kelly cruised through the first four frames before running into control issues in the fifth.
A pair of walks sandwiched around a single loaded the bases for Bishop Guertin, which then lined two straight pitches back at Kelly and up the middle for an RBI. A fly out to right and another RBI single chased Kelly from the game, setting up a relief appearance for Sullivan. The right-hander came on and walked the first two batters he faced but forced Nick Slater into a groundout to end the inning.
“We’ve got two legit starters in (Griffin) Gilbert and (Noah) Wachter and we’re looking for a third,” Owen said. “(Kelly) is going to be kind of the closer with those other two guys and in weeks we have three games, we were looking for another starter and I think we found it.”
Kelly was just happy to be outside and on the mound, even if it didn’t go quite according to plan.
“It’s muscle memory,” Kelly said. “It’s all the same thing over and over again but changing from flat ground to a mound is a real big difference when you don’t have the experience outside. … This was my first outing actually back, and my first time throwing in a game since last summer when I blew out my elbow. I felt pretty good coming back.”
With the game close for the first time all afternoon and the Tide fresh off a crushing one-run loss to Trinity on Wednesday, Owen rode the arm of Sullivan to the victory. Staked to an 8-6 advantage, Sullivan worked a 1-2-3 sixth and tiptoed his way around a bases-loaded situation in the seventh to lock it up. The Cardinals had three on and nobody out in their final at-bats, but Sullivan rung up Raymond Touchette on an off-speed pitch, retired Aiden Coyne on a fly out and forced a line out to wrap things up.
“We’re a smidge away from 3-0 and we haven’t practiced on a field yet,” Owen said. “So it’s hard to be unhappy with being 2-1.”
Concord’s patience on offense nearly made the game a cakewalk from the first inning on. The Tide took advantage of five walks and a hit batter to plate five runs off Bishop Guertin starter Touchette, who failed to record an out before giving way to Brett Anderson.
The Tide added solo runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
“It’s always important to get a cushion,” Owen said. “I thought our kids did a great job of laying off. It’s hard because everyone wants to swing sometimes … You go up there and swing at a bad pitch, give the pitcher a little bit of confidence back and things can change. But I thought our kids did a great job of being patient and working through those guys.”
Concord will get some rest before returning to action on Wednesday at home against Exeter.
On Wednesday, Concord received a stellar start from Wachter but couldn’t hang on to a pair of leads in the eighth and ninth innings before falling to Trinity, 6-5.
Wachter went seven innings, allowing just two hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts before being relieved by Jacob Knowles, who tossed 1⅔ innings and took the loss.
“Noah pitched a gem and Jacob pitched well in relief but we were unable to make the plays behind Jacob,” Owen said.
Concord led 2-1 in the eighth and 5-2 in the ninth but couldn’t finish the job either time. Kurtis Stadnicki picked up a pair of hits and an RBI in the loss, while Kelly (2 hits, 2 RBI), Ethan Dupre (hit, run), Gilbert (RBI) and Ryan Tessier (RBI) all contributed in the loss.
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
Coe-Brown 5, Pembroke 1
Key players: Coe-Brown – Brody Ashley (complete game, 10 K, 2 walks), Joel Boulanger (2-for-3, 2 doubles), Dylan Andrews (1-for-5, RBI); Pembroke – AJ Gagnon (4.2 IP, 3 earned runs, 3 hits, 6 walks, 2 K; hit, RBI), Quinton Paquin (run),
Highlights/key moments: The Bears scored twice in the first frame with Ashley crossing the plate on a wild pitch and Andrew driving in Boulanger for the go-ahead run. The game was tight as Coe-Brown held a 2-1 lead until scraping together a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning. Ashley protected the Bears’ lead from the mound as Coe-Brown opened the season with a victory at home.
Records: Coe-Brown 1-0, Pembroke 0-1
Monadnock 10, Bishop Brady 0
Key players: Bishop Brady – Mario Fusco (double), Johnny Skehan (relief pitching)
Highlights/key moments: Brady misplayed a fly ball with the bases loaded in the first inning and allowed two unearned runs. The defense then committed four additional errors in the game and Monadnock took advantage with six more runs.
Coach’s quote: “As well as our defense played (Wednesday) it failed us today. We don’t have power pitching so we need to catch and throw the ball. If we don’t play good defense we won’t win. Also, we did not have very many quality at-bats today.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Monadnock 1-0; Bishop Brady 1-1
Goffstown 13, Merrimack Valley 4
Key players: MV – Brian Nylen (2-for-3, RBI), Mark Barton (RBI), Joe Ostrowski (RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Goffstown scored in each inning. MV pitchers allowed nine walks, including six in the first two innings.
Coach’s quote: “We gave a good team too many extra outs and free passes. We will clean it up and bounce back.” – MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: Goffstown 1-0; MV 0-1
Gilford 17, Winnisquam 0
Coach’s quote: “Thankfully this only counts as one loss. I guess 19 walks, two hit batters, eight errors and nine hits was a little too much to overcome.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
Records: Gilford 1-0; Winnisquam 0-1
Newmarket 11, Pittsfield 3
Key players: Pittsfield – Casey Clark (6 IP, 7 hits, 5 K, 2 walks, 2 earned runs), Cam Darrah (1-for-3, walk, run), Noah McGlashing (2-for-4, double, run), Kyle Stockman (1-for-4, HR, RBI)
Highlights/key moments:
Coach’s quote: “Tough start to the season tonight. You name it, we did it wrong.” – Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Newmarket 1-0; Pittsfield 0-1
Bishop Guertin 5, Concord 0
Key players: Concord – Haley Munroe (hit), Anita DiBuono (hit), Delia Barry (hit), Abby Rochette (2 shutout innings in relief, 4 K)
Highlights/key moments: Concord starter Izzy Dunn pitched well, but a couple of errors helped the Cardinals score early and BG’s Soraghan kept Concord off the scoreboard.
Coach’s quote: “We played fairly well, but ran into a good veteran team with a strong pitcher.” – Concord assistant Sandy Smith
Records: BG 1-0; Concord 1-1
Pembroke 9, Coe-Brown 3
Key players: Pembroke – Chloe Carigan (win in first varsity start), Olivia McCarty (2-for-4)
Highlights/key moments: Coe-Brown led 3-2 heading into the top of the seventh but Pembroke scored six runs and Carigan struck out the side in the bottom half to secure the win.
Records: Pembroke 2-0; Coe-Brown 0-1
Merrimack Valley 10, Goffstown 8
Key players: MV – Sam Hodkinson (7 IP, 4 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 2-4 with 3 RBI), Katelyn Hill (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Alani Ramas (2-for-3, 3 RBI), Ann Bascom (hit), Brooke Palmer (hit), Molly McLaughlin (hit)
Highlights/key moments: MV scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth after trailing by three. McLaughlin started the rally with her first varsity hit. The next four batters reached first base on hits and Hodkinson tied the game with a bases-loaded single. Ramas drove in MV’s final two runs with a single later in the frame.
Coach’s quote: “Always good to get the first win out of the way. The team showed some grit after being down on the scoreboard.” – MV’s Sam York
Records: MV 1-0; Goffstown 0-1
Winnisquam 15, Gilford 13
Key players: Winnisquam – Carly Catty (4-for-5, 3 runs, 3 RBI), Lauren Bolstridge (3-for-5, 2 RBI), Molly Tinker (2-for-5, run, double, HR, 4 RBI, 7 IP, 5 K, 7 walks, 2 HBP, 8 earned runs, 11 hits); Gilford – Jillian Lachapelle (4-for-5, triple, HR, 4 RBI), Stevie Orton (3-for-5, double, 4 RBI), Taryn Breton (2-for-3, triple, RBI), Lexi Boisvert (2 hits, triple)
Highlights/key moments: Winnisquam and Gilford opened the season with a slugfest where the teams combined for 33 hits. The Bears scored four runs in the third, five in the fourth and four in the sixth. Gilford answered with seven runs in the top of the seventh to bring the Golden Eagles within two runs.
Coach’s quote: “I was very happy with our bats. We’ve got to throw some more strikes and make some more plays.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
“Fifteen hits, a double, three triples, a home run and 13 runs in a varsity game; that should be good enough to win.” – Gilford’s Joan Forge
Records: Winnisquam 1-0; Gilford 0-1
Bishop Brady 16, Monadnock 0
Key players: Bishop Brady – Lily Rivera (4-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI, double, 2 stolen bases; 5 IP, 3 hits, 6 K), Jamie Cookingham (3-for-4, 4 RBI, 2 runs, double, HR), Maddy Rines (3-for-3, 3 RBI, 2 runs, 2 doubles), Emily Santis (2-for-4), 2 RBI, 2 runs, double, triple), Gwen Tupman (2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs), Aniecia Vargas (2-for-4, run), Cait Mallahan (2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs), Abby Santis (1-for-3), Emily Manning (1-for-2, 2 runs)
Highlights/key moments: Rivera scattered three singles for her first shutout win of the season. Mallahan made an impressive running catch in shallow right-center field.
Coach’s quote: “A complete game in all three phases: offense, pitching and defense. Great start to the season.” – Bishop Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Bishop Brady 2-0; Monadnock 0-1
Newmarket 16, Pittsfield 8
Key players: Pittsfield – Destinee Ellis (2-for-4, double, 2-run triple), Megan Callicoat (2-for-4, 2 runs), Torie Lee (2-for-2, 2 walks)
Highlights/key moments: The Panthers allowed Newmarket to score five runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
Records: Newmarket 1-1; Pittsfield 0-1
Bishop Brady 10, Lebanon 9
Key players: Bishop Brady – Bryce Johnson (6 goals), Rich Sullivan (goal, 5 assists), Danny Bryck (goal, assist), Kyle Cioffi (goal, assist), Aidan Plumpton (goal), Craig Newcomb (14 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Brady trailed 7-6 at halftime, but a three-minute illegal stick penalty charged to Lebanon in the third quarter gave the Giants momentum. A goal by Sullivan tied the game and Johnson crept around the crease for another score, giving Brady the lead. The defense held Lebanon to two goals and only five shots in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “The defense played a much more disciplined game, which killed us on Tuesday. Our clears improved (18 of 25 on the day) and we kept our composure after letting up early goals. The offense played patiently in the fourth and we had great defensive communication.” – Bishop Brady’s Justin Loring
Records: Brady 1-1; Lebanon 0-1
Merrimack Valley 10, Pembroke 3
Key players: MV – Talia Dinger (4 goals), Abby Grandmaison (2 goals, assist), Brannigan McNeil (2 goals), Kallie Fisher (goal), Ellie Acquilano (goal), Brittany Leonard (6 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Dinger led the offense and the Pride added a second win on the young season.
Records: MV 2-0; Pembroke 0-1
Portsmouth 16, John Stark 1
Key players: John Stark – Sam Porter (21 saves), Jill Douzanis (goal), Emily Patten (strong defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals only trailed 1-0 until 13 minutes into the first half when Portsmouth scored three quick goals added two more before halftime to lead 7-1.
Coach’s quote: “Though the girls worked hard. We have some things to work on as the lack of practices on a field really showed today.” – John Stark’s John Warner
Records: Portsmouth 1-0; John Stark 0-1
Laconia 14, St. Thomas 4
Key players: Laconia – Becca Howe (7 goals), Skyler Tautkus (5 goals, assist), Teegan Stevens (goal, assist), Hannah Dow (goal, assist)
Highlights/key moments: Lyndsey Paronto had another strong game in net with five saves while forcing a turnover and scooping two groundballs. Paronto was supported by a strong defensive effort from Cheyanne Zappala, Emily Avery, Devon Mello and Kaitlyn Brooks, who held St. Thomas scoreless in the first half.
Records: Laconia 2-0; St. Thomas 1-0
Bishop Brady 9, Lebanon 7
Key players: Brady – Abby Tremblay (4 goals), Sam Will (3 goals), Alex Sacco (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Ana Carroll anchored Brady’s solid defensive effort. The Green Giants were able to bounce back from a 17-7 loss to Pelham in the season opener.
Coach’s quote: “We played together and made some changes in our game which help get us our first win. Lebanon is always a strong team and they gave us a great game today.” – Brady’s Kate Hohenberger
Records: Brady 1-1; Lebanon 0-1
Kearsarge 9, Monadnock 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Tyler Valovic (8-2 win at No. 1 singles), Tucker Valovic (8-3 win at No. 2), Charlie O’Connor (8-0 win at No. 3), Matt Hubley (8-0 win at No. 4), Jake Long (8-0 win at No. 5)
Highlights/key moments: Tyler Valovic and O’Connor pulled off an 8-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, while Parker Pitts and Sam Shields completed the sweep for Kearsarge with an 8-0 victory in the No. 2 spot. Monadnock forfeited the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles matches.
Coach’s quote: “We just had more experienced players. I played everybody in the match who was available to play today. We didn’t do anything earth-shattering, we just had more experience.” – Kearsarge’s Lynn Miller
Records: Kearsarge 2-0; Monadnock 0-4
Bow 6, Pelham 3
Key players: Bow – Evan Alfano, Mike Mullen, Caleb Olson, Dillon D’Allesandro, Zach Mullen, Jonathan Cook, Neeraj Naik
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons won five of six singles matches and sealed the win as Cook and Naik won their doubles match. Brayden Binder competed hard in the top singles match, but fell 9-8 to Simon Daigle.
Records: Bow 3-0; Pelham 2-2
Gilford 8, Inter-Lakes 1
Key players: Inter-Lakes – Noah Sullivan
Highlights/key moments: Sullivan earned the Lakers their lone win of the afternoon in the No. 1 singles match.
Coach’s quote: “Gilford is a strong team again this year with solid depth through all six starting players and beyond.” – Inter-Lakes’ Bill West
Records: Inter-Lakes 2-1
Concord 9, Keene 0
Key players: Concord – Alexandra Killinger, Rebecca Cistulli, Sabrina Hart-Meyer, Abigail Pope, Lydia Yen, Emma Pedersen, Bailey Jackson
Highlights/key moments: Concord’s top four got out to a quick start and doubles played well for a Tide victory.
Coach’s quote: “Solid contribution from the top six. Bailey Jackson at No. 7 added her skill at No. 3 doubles combining with Emma Pedersen for the win.” – Concord’s PJ Cistulli
Records: Concord 2-0; Keene 0-2