Heading into the final week of the regular season fresh off back-to-back losses and trailing 5-0 through the first three innings on Monday, the Coe-Brown baseball team desperately needed a spark.
That’s exactly what the Bears got in the seventh inning after back-to-back two-run, two-out singles from Travis Carbone and Matt Messenger lifted Coe-Brown (6-9) to a 9-7 come-from-behind victory over the Oyster River Bobcats (4-11) in Durham.
Thanks to six runs in the final frame, Coe-Brown is still in the hunt for a spot in the Division II postseason tournament.
The victory also a venged a 9-6 loss the Bears suffered to the Bobcats on Friday in Northwood.
Although the six-run seventh inning rally capped the victory, it completed a job that started early in the game.
After two scoreless innings to open the contest, the Bobcats scored five runs in the third thanks in part to a two-run triple. Coe-Brown crossed the plate in the fourth to make it 5-1 and that was how the score remained through five.
The Bears plated two runs in the sixth to keep themselves in striking distance, but it was the pitching of Luke McCusker that Coe-Brown head coach Chris Tilton credited with keeping his squad in range.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” said Tilton, referring to McCusker’s scoreline of six hits, seven runs (five earned) allowed, five walks and five strikeouts in a complete-game effort, “but Luke did an extremely good job on the mound of competing and giving us a chance. The guys were extremely energized.”
The Bears were even more energized after Jacob Flanagan led off the seventh with a walk and Jacob Bisson and McCusker reached on errors, loading the bases for Coe-Brown with two outs.
Spencer Murphy was hit by a pitch, scoring Flanagan to cut the deficit to 5-4, and, at the next at-bat, Carbone ripped a 1-2 pitch up the middle, scoring Bisson and McCusker to give Coe-Brown a 6-5 lead. Messenger’s two-run single to left field extended the Bears’ lead to 8-5 and Messenger stole third on the next play, but ended up coming home on an overthrow to third base for Coe-Brown’s ninth run.
“This group showed a lot of resiliency to chip away at a lead and never give up and get the big swing when we needed it,” Tilton said. “We left a lot of guys on base earlier in the game.”
Bisson, McCusker, Murphy and Messenger all had two hits, while Flanagan drew three walks and scored a pair of runs to lead Coe-Brown’s offense.
The Bobcats scored two runs on an error in the seventh inning and loaded the bases, but McCusker got out of the jam, forcing a fly out to left field to end the game.
Coe-Brown currently sits in a four-way tie for 13th place in D-II. The top 15 teams in D-II make the tournament.
“It’s an extremely meaningful win,” Tilton said. “We needed this win to keep our playoff hopes alive. It was a really big win for us.”
The other teams with identical 6-9 records include Hollis Brookline, Merrimack Valley and Pembroke.
Coe-Brown concludes the regular season on Wednesday at home against Sanborn – one of two teams with 5-9 records (Laconia is the other team) that are also chasing the last couple of tournament spots.
Concord 10, Nashua North 2
Key players: Concord – Griffin Gilbert (7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 12 K), Ryan Tessier (2 hits, run, RBI), Jacob Knowles (2 hits, run, RBI), Eric Sullivan (2 hits, run, 2 RBI), Alex Buteau (2-run HR, sacrifice fly, 3 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Concord was down 1-0 going into the bottom of the second but answered with three runs. The Tide added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before breaking out for five in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by Buteau’s two-run blast.
Coach’s quote: “Great team victory on senior night as we celebrated our seven seniors. Griffin pitched a great game tonight. We got production up and down the lineup, as all nine players had at least one hit.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 13-5; Nashua North 9-9
Bow 13, Kingswood 3
Key players: Bow – Riley Elliott (3⅔ IP, 1 H, 5 K), Sam Selleck (3-for-3, 2 doubles, 3 RBI), Ben Kimball (2-for-2), Christian McDonald (2-for-4, double, 3 RBI), Ben Harris (2-for-3, RBI), Connor Blandini (double, 3 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Elliott pitched 3⅔ innings of shutout relief to earn the win on the mound and his teammates provided plenty of support at the plate, leading the Falcons to their fourth straight win.
Records: Bow 10-4; Kingswood 1-14
Hanover 5, John Stark 4
Key players: John Stark – Derek Goldrick (2-for-3, 2 RBI; 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 14 K), Rian Queen (2-for-3, run), Brady Philibotte (2-run single), Nick LaBrecque (1st varsity hit)
Highlights/key moments: Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, the Generals scored four runs highlighted by Philibotte and Goldrick’s 2-run hits, but Hanover responded right away scoring four runs thanks to a walk, an error, two hit batters and one bases-clearing hit.
Coach’s quote: “Good baseball game today played by two good teams. Unfortunately we ended up on the wrong side of the score.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: Hanover 9-4; John Stark 12-3
St. Thomas 11, Laconia 7
Key players: Laconia – Cameron Haynes (4-for-4, double, 2 RBI), Ryan McCrea (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Thomas Turpin (double, 3 runs), Steven Poliquin (1-for-3, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Sachems dropped their third straight game in a loss to the Saints.
Records: St. Thomas 6-8; Laconia 5-10
Kennett 4, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: MV – Alan Thompson (4 IP, 1 ER), Caleb Heath (3 IP, 1 ER), Braedon Miller (2-for-3).
Highlights/key moments: The Pride could only muster two hits, both from Miller, in a loss to the Eagles.
Records: Kennett 10-5; MV 6-9
Pembroke 5, Souhegan 4
Key players: Pembroke – Jared Murray (7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 K, 2 BB; run), Jeff Wagner (2-for-3, double), Cole Hapgood (1-for-3, 2 runs, steal)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans came back from a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Murray scoring the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
Records: Pembroke 6-9; Souhegan 7-7
Bishop Brady 15, Franklin 3
Key players: Bishop Brady – Alex Andrews (4 IP, 2 ER, 6 K), Chase Buckman (hit, sacrifice fly, 3 RBI), Theo Partington (2 hits, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Max Lamora (2 hits, triple, 3 RBI, 2 runs), Nick Grimbilas (2 hits, 2 RBI, run); Franklin – Harrison Clark (2 hits, 2 runs), Zach Dunham (hit, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: After the Tornadoes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run single from Dunham, the Giants answered with five runs in the top of the second, highlighted by an RBI single from Partington and a two-run single from Buckman. Brady added eight more runs in the fourth, including a two-run triple from Lamora to put the game out of reach in five innings.
Coach’s quote: “Alex gave us a quality start today and the bats really came alive to support him in getting the victory.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Bishop Brady 9-6; Franklin 2-13
Stevens 8, Kearsarge 6
Key players: Kearsarge – Tyler Penrose (2⅓ IP, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 H), Tyler Crawford (1-for-2, BB, 3 RBI), Noah Cooper (2-run single), Noah Grey (2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars fell to the Cardinals for the second time in five days despite scoreless relief pitching from Penrose.
Coach’s quote: “For the second time in a week it was a back-and-forth game that we fell short in. I thought we played hard enough to win but came up short. It was a great day to honor our four seniors Kevin Stasolovich, Ryan Ellis, Sam Luck, and Levi Wilson. We have one game left and we will give it everything we got to end the year with a win.” – Kearsarge’s Travis Pelletier
Records: Stevens 9-6; Kearsarge 3-12
Gilford 10, Prospect 0
Key players: Gilford – Adrian Siravo (5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 K), Cody Boucher (2-for-2, 2 runs), TJ Carmelia (double, reached base three times), Tyler McKinney (3 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Gilford recorded its seventh shutout of the season while locking up the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Division III tournament.
Coach’s quote: “Comeplete game today – error free, great pitching and solid contact up and down the order. Not much to complain about.” – Gilford’s Eric Duquette
Records: Gilford 15-0; Prospect Mountain 5-9
Pittsfield 17, Sunapee 10
Key players: Pittsfield – Devin Bedell (3-for-5, 5 RBI, 2 doubles), Cam Darrah (2-for-3, 3 runs)
Highlights/key moments: Five Panthers connected for multiple hits, making up for a lackluster night on the mound and in the field.
Coach’s quote: “First game this year where I thought our pitching was off. We also played poor defense tonight. Luckily our bats showed up.” – Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Pittsfield 12-1; Sunapee 7-7
Coe-Brown 16, Stevens 4
Key players: Coe-Brown – Jacob Radwan (5 G, 2 A), Ben Heyliger (3 G), Jack Cinquegrano (2 G), Evan Conway (G), Griffen Bono (G), Ben Watson (G), Dakota West (G), Cal Welch (G), Sam Godwin (G), Noah Sinnamon (all around good game)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears came out of the gates quickly, scoring seven times in the first quarter.
Coach’s quote: “We needed to come out strong and did. We knew we needed this one to stay in the playoff picture. So this was a big win. Now we can see what develops in all the interesting matchups the rest of this week, knowing we did what we could to help ourselves today. I’m proud of these guy for recognizing that and responding to it.” – Coe-Brown’s Tony DePalma
Records: Coe-Brown 7-7; Stevens 0-13