HOOKSETT – The reason Cole Contigiani remembers so vividly how last season ended is because he was the one who made the final out. The Belmont senior struck out in a quarterfinal loss to Bow and then spent the next nine months training harder than ever before.
“After that game, I just sat on the field for like three hours,” Contigiani said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just started training in the summer and put everything into it because this was my last shot.”
Fast forward to the sixth inning of Thursday’s Division III semifinal at Southern New Hampshire University, when Contigiani finally got his redemption. The D-III Player of the Year danced around danger on the mound all afternoon, but the sixth frame was his masterpiece.
Hanging onto a one-run lead with the bases loaded, the Raiders’ ace set down the final two batters of the frame to escape a potential game-changing situation and sent No. 2 Belmont into Saturday’s state title game with a narrow 2-1 win over No. 3 Conant.
“That’s Cole Contigiani right there,” Belmont Coach Matt LeBlanc said of his starter. “I mean, he’s the Player of the Year for a reason and I think he showed it today. He got himself in a little bit of trouble, and every single time, he just got himself out of it.”
Belmont (17-2) has now won 17 straight games after starting the season 0-2. The Raiders, whose last loss came April 17, will play top-seeded Campbell (18-0) in the state championship game on Saturday (10 a.m.) at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. It’ll be Belmont’s first trip to the title game since 2005, when the Raiders fell to Somersworth, 5-3.
“We set a goal four years ago. We brought Corey Derosier and Chris Marden up to the varsity team as freshmen, and the other guys came in as sophomores,” LeBlanc said. “We kind of had this vision of today. We worked for it and it’s really been four seasons of just working hard and those guys have done it.”
While Belmont grabbed the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the very first inning, Conant was held scoreless by Contigiani through the first five frames.
Contigiani survived a shaky first, and worked his way out of a bases-loaded situation in the second, stranding nine Orioles on base in total through five.
“I saw at the beginning, I think he was a little nervous and rushed everything,” Belmont catcher Cam Magerer said. “By the third or fourth inning, he settled right in and went back to (being) the Player of the Year in Division III.”
The sixth inning offered the biggest challenge to both Contigiani and the Belmont coaching staff. Ahead 2-0 after Marden’s run-scoring single in the fifth, Contigiani retired the first batter before Conant’s Corbin Sasner worked a walk and Preston Kirby singled to left field.
Another walk to Ryan Smith loaded the bases and a single through the left side of the infield narrowed the gap to one run. But this was Contigiani’s game and he wasn’t coming out.
“I knew (coach) wouldn’t take me out unless I maxed out,” said Contigiani, who was well over 100 pitches at the time. “I just tried to keep it all in. Breathe, settle down and just go right at them.”
Contigiani did, and the Conant hitters failed to answer. Contigiani blew Aidan Kirby away with a fastball right down the heart of the plate, and induced a weak pop out from James Record to end the threat, and his afternoon. He finished the outing allowing one run on six hits over six innings with eight strikeouts.
“That shows you the heart, mentality and guts that kid has,” LeBlanc said. “You just got to love it for a kid like that, he had to work so hard for that.”
With Belmont failing to add on any insurance runs in the bottom half of the sixth, Conant was still just one big swing away from tying the contest. But sophomore Griffin Embree quickly put an end to any comeback thoughts, recording the final three outs on three pitches to nab the save.
“That kid is awesome,” LeBlanc said. “He comes in and he’s got to have all the nerves in the world, right? Three strikes, three outs. You tip your cap to a kid like that. He’s in a tough position and comes out and got it done.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)