The Concord High girls’ tennis team has faced tough tests early and often to this point in the regular season.
Just five days after winning a tight 5-4 match over Pinkerton, where four of the Tide’s five victories were earned in tiebreakers, Concord squared off against Bedford (4-1) – one of the favorites for the Division I crown. The Tide lost the match, 7-2, but gained even more experience in dealing with tight matches and Concord Coach P.J. Cistulli expects this to pay dividends down the road, hopefully in the playoffs.
“I think it’s very beneficial,” Cistulli said. “It gets them match tough. Win or lose, they can count on their skills a little bit more in a tight situation if they get used to it early. We happened to win the Pinkerton match that came down to third doubles.”
Not as many of the matches were as close as they were last week against the Astros. Sabrina Hart-Meyer lost, 8-6, at No. 3 singles and then lost a close doubles match with Lydia Yen at No. 2, 9-7.
Becky Cistulli won her No. 2 singles match, 8-2, and also cruised to a victory at No. 1 doubles with teammate Alex Killinger, 8-4.
“Bedford is always tough and we should’ve had more of an edge on our home courts, but in some close matches they prevailed,” Coach Cistulli said. “They are a deep team and we would like to see them again in the playoffs.”
The Tide is only the second squad to win any matches at all against the Bulldogs this season. All three of Bedford’s victories heading into Monday’s match were by 9-0 scores. Bedford’s only loss was a 6-3 defeat to undefeated Manchester Central (6-0), who also beat the Tide, 7-2, last week.
Bedford, Central and Exeter “seem to be playing with purpose at this point,” Coach Cistulli pointed out, and he hopes Concord will be right there with them come the end of the season.
“We just want to make it to the playoffs first of all, that’s our initial goal,” Coach Cistulli said. “We want to be prepared. If we’ve met them in the regular season, we can plan accordingly. Win or lose, we want to take what we know into the playoffs.”
Bedford 8, Concord 1
Key players: Concord – Kevin Neary and Anders Norton (8-6 win at No. 3 doubles)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide couldn’t find a way to break Bedford’s winning streak, which is now 86 matches long. But Concord pushed the Bulldogs on several singles courts, notably Adam Bryant’s 8-6 loss at No. 2, Neary’s 8-6 loss at No. 5 and Ethan Crandlemire’s 8-5 loss No. 6
Coach’s quote: “The final score doesn’t show it, but we played harder and smarter than we did in our loss to Pinkerton. Our difficult schedule will help us down the road if we continue to focus on the process of improving every day.” – Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Bedford 5-0; Concord 4-2
Concord 4, Merrimack 2
Key players: Concord – Ethan Dupre (2 hits, RBI, run), Zack Miles (RBI), Jake Kelly (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 5 K; RBI), Jacob Knowles (1 IP, save), Gabe Tobin (hit, run), Ryan Tessier (hit, run)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide had quality outings from Kelly and Knowles and Concord scored three runs in the third inning to defeat the Tomahawks. The Tide added an insurance run in the fourth.
Coach’s quote: “We did a great job today. We got great pitching and defense and were supported by some timely hitting.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 3-3; Merrimack 2-4
John Stark 7, Pelham 2
Key players: John Stark – Jeremy Aubin (win, 6 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K; 1-for-3, 2 RBI), Derek Goldrick (2-for-4, double, RBI, stolen base), Brandon Langon (2-for-3, RBI, 2 stolen bases), Aaron Robertson (2 runs, 2 stole bases, strong game at SS), Brett Patnode (2 runs, 2 stolen bases, caught 2 stealing as catcher)
Highlights/key moments: With the score tied 1-1 in the third, the Generals took advantage of some Pelham miscues and had some timely hits in a five-run inning. Stark played a strong error-less game defensively to seal the win.
Coach’s quote: “Great game for our defense today and very efficient pitching from Aubin and Nathan Isabelle. We were down a couple starters today, so we needed some guys to step up and we definitely got that.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 2-1; Pelham 1-3
ConVal 12, Laconia 7
Key players: Laconia – Ryan Dee (2-for-5), Carter Doherty (3-for-4, RBI), Dom Vaillancourt (2-for-4), Bradley Weeks (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Cameron Souda (2-for-4, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Starter Jake Nelson pitched well for Sachems, striking out five, walking three and allowing three earned runs, but eventually the Cougars’ bats were too much for Laconia.
Records: ConVal 1-3; Laconia 0-3
Franklin 4, White Mtns. 1
Key players: Franklin – Max Joyce (HR, RBI), Trevor Gallagher (2 RBI in varsity debut), Taryn Laramie (win, 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 K)
Highlights/key moments: Joyce set the tone on the second pitch of the game, belting a homer to deep left field. Hits late in the inning from Riley Thurber, Corey Nelson and Harrison Clark, along with a two-run single from Gallagher made it 4-0 before the Spartans had a chance to bat.
Coach’s quote: “Braxton Brown (White Mountains pitcher, complete game, 10 K) did a great job after the first inning keeping his team in the game. We were aggressive in the first inning and it paid off for us. Getting a win on the road against a good opponent is always a good feeling and gives you something to build on.” – Franklin’s Dave Joyce
Records: Franklin 1-3; White Mtns. 0-3
Monadnock 14, H-D 6
Key players: H-D – Gunner Hagstrom (2-for-3; 4⅔ IP, 6 K), Sawyer Jones (3-for-4), Brad Zampson (2-for-4), Joe O’Brien (2-for-4), Thomas Ferguson (2-for-4, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and tacked on four more in the second. The Huskies came back with one run in the second inning and two in the fourth before sealing the victory with a five-run fifth inning.
Coach’s quote: “The boys are hitting better every game.” – H-D’s Erik Hagstrom
Records: Monadnock 3-1; H-D 0-3
Conant 5, Winnisquam 4
Key players: Winnisquam – Hunter Tierney (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER; 2 hits, double, RBI), Brendon Vaughn (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears had a strong complete-game outing from Tierney, but Winnisquam made errors on the first two plays of the game, promptly giving the Orioles a 3-0 lead.
Coach’s quote: “Second game in a row we battled back against an undefeated team and lost by a run with the tying run on base. We have to stop digging ourselves early holes.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
Records: Conant 4-0; Winnisquam 1-4
Hopkinton 19, Epping 1, 5 inn.
Key players: Hopkinton – Sam Crawford (5 IP, 13 K, 1 H), Ben McManus (2 triples, double, single, 4-for-5, 5 RBI), Caleb Yianakopolos (2 hits, 4 RBI), Tucker Windhurst (2 hits, 2 RBI), Sam Rawson (hit, 3 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Crawford struck out the first nine Blue Devils he faced and gave up just a single in the fourth inning, as the Hawks put away Epping in five innings. Hopkinton jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning and an 8-0 lead after two, before hammering home 11 runs in the first to end the game early.
Coach’s quote: “A combination of some hits, walks and wild pitches gave us the 11-run inning. (Epping) just ran out of pitching.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 5-1; Epping 0-3
Newmarket 4, Pittsfield 3, 9 inn.
Key players: Pittsfield – Casey Clark (5 IP, 4 R), Devin Bedell (4 IP, 4 BB, 3 H), Noah MacGlashing (2-for-4)
Highlights/key moments: Both teams left multiple runners on base through eight innings of play, but the Mules finally capitalized in the bottom of the ninth for the win.
Coach’s quote: “The boys battled so hard tonight. We just came up short on a game that could have gone either way. They just got the hit that counted the most.” – Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Newmarket 3-1; Pittsfield 5-2
Merrimack 4, Concord 0
Key players: Concord – Izzy Dunn (4 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 4 K; 2-for-3, double;), Abby Rochette (3 IP, 1 H, 6 K), Anita DiBuono (double), Jill Dusseault (hit), Caitlyn Shea (hit), Haley Munroe (hit)
Highlights/key moments: Merrimack came out swinging, scoring three runs on five hits in the first, and Concord failed to score for the third straight game. The Tide stranded eight runners, five of them in scoring position.
Coach’s quote: “We’re still struggling to get the timely hits. We’re putting runners on base, just not sending them the final 60 feet.” – Concord Assistant Coach Sandy Smith
Records: Merrimack 1-3; Concord 1-3
White Mtns. 11, Franklin 2
Key players: Franklin – Mackenzie Weatherbee (3 hits, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Tornadoes lost a rematch of last year’s D-III championship game to the Spartans. Weatherbee drove in both Franklin runs in the third inning. The Golden Tornadoes had two runners on base in the first and sixth innings and had the bases loaded in the second and seventh, but couldn’t push any more runs across. White Mountains broke the game open with six runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth.
Coach’s quote: “Our youth and inexperience caught up with us today as White Mountains’ Kate Coulter had eight strikeouts, but more importantly, their aggressive base running forced both mental and physical errors by our defense.” – Franklin’s Skip DuBois
Records: White Mtns. 4-0; Franklin 3-1
Hillsboro-Deering 9, Mondadnock 4
Key players: H-D – Gina Costello (4-for-5, 7 stolen bases), Jessica Peschel (3-for-5, 2 steals), Maggie Atkins (7 IP, 10 K, 1 BB; 2-for-4)
Highlights/key moments: Thanks for a four-run first inning, the Hillcats were off and running early and never trailed. H-D extended its lead to 5-2 in the fourth and put the game away by pushing across four more runs in the fifth.
Coach’s quote: “The girls are playing very well and have come together for such a young team.” – H-D’s Shawn Atkins
Records: H-D 3-1; Monadnock 1-2
Hopkinton 4, Epping 2
Key players: Hopkinton – Alexis Blanchette (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 9K), Gabby Lajeunesse (defense), Maddy McCluskey (defense), Maddy Bishop (RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks out-hit the Blue Devils, 5-4, and scored three runs in the second inning to win a close contest. Blanchette pitched well for the Hawks.
Coach’s quote: “Good win today against a tough team. I was really pleased defensively today.” – Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Hopkinton 4-1; Epping 2-2