BELMONT – They were one of the preseason favorites, one of the Division III baseball teams people were talking about, and why not? Belmont High returned a solid core from last year’s 14-4 crew that reached the quarterfinals and looked poised for a big spring.
The early chatter quieted when the Raiders lost their first two games of the season, but since then, Belmont’s bats have grown louder and the talk can grow with it. After Saturday’s 11-1, six-inning win against up-and-coming Newfound, the Raiders have won nine straight and are once again hanging around the top of the D-III standings.
“We’ve had the pitching going all along and that’s been our No. 1 from the start of the season, and now the bats are coming around,” said Belmont’s Matt LeBlanc, the 2016 D-III Coach of the Year. “When you hit line drives like we were hitting today, hard and all around the park, good things happen.”
The Raiders (9-2) collected 12 hits against Newfound (6-4) and scored double-digit runs for the fourth time in seven games. They banged out five of those hits in the second inning and scored seven runs in the process, although three errors from the Bears in the frame helped with that.
“We had some mental mistakes in the field that don’t usually happen, a couple of misreads,” Newfound Coach John Larsen said. “But that’s not taking anything away from (Belmont), from murderer’s row over there, they can hit the ball.”
They can also pitch it, as Cole Contigiani showed by striking out seven, allowing just two hits and walking no one during his six innings of work. It was the second win of the week against Newfound for Contigiani, who also got the decision in Belmont’s 9-1 victory over the Bears on Monday.
“I thought we would see the ball better against (Contigiani) the second time around, the boys did, too,” Larsen said. “He’s tough. He works out there. He throws hard and keeps the ball low.”
Belmont shortstop Corey Derosier said, “Cole’s velocity was up today, he was throwing hard and he was hitting his spots as usual. This is what we expect from Cole every time he comes out, just doing his job.”
Newfound’s only run against Contigiani on Saturday was unearned. Ryan Coughlin reached on an error to lead off the second and came home on a long double to left-center field by Mike Doan, giving the Bears a brief 1-0 lead.
Belmont opened the bottom of the second with three loud hits, including an RBI double from sophomore catcher Cam Magerer (2-for-4, 3 RBI, run) and an RBI single from Kyle Minery (2-for-3, RBI, run) that put the Raiders on top, 2-1. An outfield error and two fielder’s choice ground outs followed to plate two more runs, and then Derosier (2-for-4) delivered a two-out single against Newfound starter Matt Mickewicz to keep the inning going.
Mickewicz (5 ⅔ IP, 12 hits, 11 runs, seven earned) then induced a ground ball to short that should have been the last out of the inning, but a hard-charging Derosier got to second before the ball to keep the inning alive.
“I was getting a big lead in general because we hadn’t seen the pitcher throw over,” Derosier said. “I was trying to get a throw just to see what he had, and as soon as there was contact I just took off for the bag and got down and dirty.”
Belmont took advantage of the extra out with an RBI single from Doug Price, and then another outfield error from the Bears allowed two more runs to score. By the end of the inning, the Raiders held a 7-1 lead.
Belmont added two more in the fourth on a two-run double from Magerer, and the Raiders ended it in the sixth after Matt Pluskis pushed across a run with a bases-loaded walk and Jonny LeClair invoked the 10-run rule with a rope to left field that plated Contigiani.
The Bears knew they would be in for a tough game in Belmont, but they were hoping to carry over some of the momentum they built on Friday night with a 13-0 win against Hillsboro-Deering at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. It didn’t happen, but this Newfound team has come a long way from the 1-15 record it posted last spring.
“The big difference has been attitude. We believe hard work wins and these kids work hard,” Larsen said. “We’re a blue-collar baseball team and that’s what we talk about, just grinding it out. I really couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”
Belmont is also hoping to make strides from last year, but for the Raiders, that would mean a trip to the D-III semifinals or beyond. There’s a lot of baseball between now and then, however, so they’re focusing on the process.
“We just want to keep it all going and be more consistent,” LeBlanc said. “Inconsistency isn’t going to work for us going forward.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)
Plymouth 12, Bow 9 (Game 1, 9 inn.)
Bow 8, Plymouth 4 (Game 2)
Key players: Bow – Ben Kimball (win), Austin Beaudette (2 hits), Mac Kimball (RBI), Ben Harris (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons took advantage of eight Plymouth errors and used a slew of pitchers to notch their third win this week.
Coach’s quote: “Proud of the guys today. … Pitching staff of Ben Kimball, Mac Kimball, Sam Selleck and Nate Yunker each threw to bring home the win.” – Bow’s Ben Forbes
Records: Bow 6-5; Plymouth 6-5
Windham 14, John Stark 1
Key players: Stark – Jocelyn Dimond (hit), Alyssa Robichaud (hit)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals managed just two hits off Windham starter Abby Bedient and scored their only run in the fifth inning.
Records: Stark 3-7; Windham 6-5
Belmont 10, Newfound 9
Key players: Newfound – Amanda Johnston (5.2 IP, 3 K, 0 ER; 3-for-3, 3 runs, RBI), Ashlee Dukette (HR, 4 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears held a 7-2 lead entering the sixth inning but a few errors cost them six unearned runs. Newfound again took the lead in the seventh, but the Raiders plated two to escape with the win.
Coach’s quote: “You can’t give a good team extra outs and that’s what we did today.” – Newfound’s Corey Johnston
Records: Newfound 6-4; Belmont 7-3
Belmont first, Gilford fourth
Key players: Belmont – Eli Allman (1st 110 hurdles, 1st 300 hurdles), Hunter Dupuis (1st 400, 2nd 200), Adam Sojka (1st triple jump), Caleb Burke (1st high jump), Tom Pare (1st discus); Gilford – Mark Young (2nd 800)
Highlights/key moments: The Raiders (125 points) pulled off the win in a four-team meet on their home track, besting second-place Mascenic (64 points) by a wide margin.
Bow first, Winnisquam second, Bishop Brady third
Key players: Bow – Mike Perry (1st high jump, 1st long jump, 1st triple jump), Brian Bushnell (1st 100, 1st 200), Robby Ciotti (1st 1,600), Kirpal Demian (1st 3,200), John Rolla (1st 110 hurdles), Lucas Cohen (1st javelin); Winnisquam – Scott Hinds (1st 400), Kyle Mann (1st 800); Brady – Sean Sullivan (1st in shot put, discus), Joshua Carrier (1st in 400).
Highlights/key moments: Bow (210 points) was in total control during a seven-team meet at its home track. Bushnell, Matt Nichols, Aiden Westenberg and Grady Beaulieu won the 4×100, while Kyle Mann, Tyler Mann, Hinds and Logan Morrison won the 4×400 for Winnisquam (77 points). Brady scored 62 points.
Gilford first, Belmont second
Key players: Gilford – Brianna Fraser (1st 100), Lauren Dean (1st 400), Olivia Morea (1st 100 hurdles, 1st 300 hurdles), Marina Baer (1st javelin), Julie Auld (1st discus); Belmont – Alice Riley (1st 1,600, 1st 3,200), Julie Valengavich (1st triple jump), Skyler Ruelke (1st long jump).
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Eagles (82 points) emerged victorious at a four-school meet at Belmont, which finished second with 68 points. Gilford excelled in the field events, led by Baer, who continues to be one of the top javelin throwers in the state.
Bow first, Winnisquam third, Bishop Brady sixth
Key players: Bow – Dom Biron (1st 200, 1st 300 hurdles, 1st high jump), Malena Lafreniere (1st 100), Sarah Ciotti (1st 1,600), Laura Hoeker (1st triple jump); Winnisquam – Jasmine Piper (1st 800); Brady – Wen MeQuing (2nd 3,200).
Highlights/key moments: The dominance of Biron helped the Falcons score 184 points on their home track. They swept both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays and easily edged second-place Conant (106 points), while Winnisquam (92) rounded out the top three.
Merrimack Valley 9, Bow 6
Key players: Bow – Ryan Tobeler (2 goals), Jared Reynolds (goal, assist), Chase Chamberlin (15 saves)
Highlights/key moments: After dropping its first two games to open the season, the Pride has now won seven straight.
Records: Bow 4-5; MV 7-2
John Stark 15, Kingswood 7
Key players: Rylee Ledoux (5 goals, assist), Hannah Marquis (1st varsity goal), Piper MacLean (3 goals, assist), Lexi Knapton (3 goals, assist)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals hit the road in this one and posted a nine-goal first half against the Knights for their sixth win in the last seven games.
Coach’s quote: “The girls really did a great job throughout with no lapses like we’ve had in some past games.” – Stark’s John Warner
Records: Stark 6-3; Kingswood 3-6
Concord 11, Salem 8
Key players: Concord – Brenna Vandersea (3 goals), Becca Proulx (3 goals), Jess Nelson (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Playing in its fourth game of the week, the Tide did just enough to notch a victory with goals from six different players.
Coach’s quote: “We were a little tired but we were able to play hard and come up with the win.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Concord 6-4; Salem 0-11
Bishop Brady 18, Belmont 3
Key players: Brady – Abby Tremblay (4 goals), Alex Saco (4 goals), Molly Dexter (defense, 1st varsity goal), Anne Wiley (2 goals), Sam Will (3 goals)
Highlights/key moments: The Green Giants received scoring and sharp play from all over the field as they inch closer to .500 on the season.
Records: Brady 4-5; Belmont 0-6