Concord High has one of the best tandems in the state at the top of its pitching rotation, and the Crimson Tide dropped both hammers on Friday in Exeter.
Concord’s Tyler Wright started and pitched five shutout innings, and when he ran into a little trouble in the sixth Jonah Wachter came on to work a two-inning save as the Tide (6-3) claimed a 4-1 road win. Wright had eight strikeouts, Wachter fanned four and neither of them walked a batter.
“Tyler and Jonah were superb,” Concord coach Scott Owen said.
They needed to be against Exeter’s Parker Landrum, who held the Tide to two runs through six innings, scattering seven hits and striking out six. Landrum also drove in the only run for the Blue Hawks (6-4).
“Great game by both teams,” Owen said.
The Tide pushed across a run against Landrum in the third inning with some heads up base running by Brooks Craigue (two hits, run) on a first-and-third play. With Nate Wachter (two hits, run) stealing second, Craigue read the throw and took off for home to give Concord a 1-0 lead. That’s where the score stayed until the top of the sixth when Nate Wachter scored an RBI single from Jarrad Willette.
Exeter finally got to Wright in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-1, but Concord added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Cam McGonigle drove in Jonah Wachter, and then McGonigle scored on a double from Ryan Kastle.
“We got some clutch hits when we needed them and we played solid defense,” Owen said.
Bishop Brady 11, Trinity 0
Key players: Bishop Brady — Connor Treybig (7 IP, W, 0 runs, 13 K, 2 H; 5 hits, HR, triple, 3 RBI, 3 runs), Dom DuBreuil (2 hits, 2 runs), A.J. Partington (double, 2 RBI, run)
Highlights: Bishop Brady scored single runs in the first and second to go up 2-0 then added 5 runs in the 3rd with the big hits being a triple by Treybig and a double from Partington. Treybig took care of the rest from the mound, and then added a 2-run hom run in the seventh for good measure.
Coach’s quote: “To take on a Division I team at their place and beat them 11-0 is another great road win for our team. My kids really came to play today and Connor was fantastic on the mound and had a great day at the plate, too.” — Skip Foy, Bishop Brady Coach
Records: Bishop Brady 3-2; Trinity 1-4
Sunapee 11, Pittsfield 1
Key players: Pittsfield — Abraham Marcotte (4 IP, 7 H, 4 R), Jesse MacGlashing (2-for-3, RBI)
Highlights: Pittsfield trailed Sunapee 4-1 going into bottom of the fifth, but things went downhill from there for the Panthers.
Records: Sunapee 4-4; Pittsfield 4-3
Hopkinton 17,
Hillsboro-Deering 0
Key players: Hopkinton — Sam Brown (4 goals, 6 assists), Ryan Brown (5 goals, assist, 5 GB), Ethan Molnar (2 goals, assist, 9 GB, 6/7 FO), Josh Duval (2 goals, assist), Patrick Buss (2 goals), Aidan Burns (assist, 11 GB, 9/9 FO), Cam Bassett (great defense, 4 GB, 6 caused turnovers), Steven Reddy (great defense, 5 GB, 2 caused turnovers); Hillsboro-Deering — Jared O’Connor 26 saves
Highlights: Hopkinton took an 11-0 lead at half and rounded out the shutout with six more goals in the second half. The Hawks played tough on groundballs and in the ride, coming up with 54 groundballs as a team and causing 19 turnovers.
Coach’s quote: “The team did a really good job of playing up-tempo lacrosse and working their hardest on the field. Our offense was sharp and our defense was aggressive. The Brown brothers seemed unstoppable today. The team is pumped and we have good momentum headed into our matchup with undefeated Division II Derryfield at home on Tuesday at 4. It should be interesting to see how three-time D-III (Hopkinton) and four-time D-II (Derryfield) champions match up!” — Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
“With the exception of our goalie, for the first time this year it felt like we didn’t give our best effort, and maybe took a step backwards. We just need to work on the fundamentals again next week at practice, and focus on getting better each day.” – H-D’s Howie Roever
Records: Hopkinton 4-2; Hillsboro-Deering 0-5
Concord 20, Keene 2
Key players: Concord — Mary Martinson (7 goals), Greta Norton (4 goals), Kaitlyn McKinnon (4 goals)
Records: Concord 2-4; Keene 0-7
Hopkinton 20, Gilford 9
Key players: Hopkinton — Rose Finlayson (5 goals, 2 assists), Hannah Hoyt (4 goals, 3 assists), Annie Higginbotham (4 goals, assist), Katie Brown (2 goals, 3 assists), Sarah Chodosh (2 goals, assist), Olivia Cressy (2 goals), Meg Haley (goal, assist), Ana Miller (6 saves), Madeleine Maughn (strong defense)
Highlights: Hopkinton took the lead early and kept extending while getting every player on the roster good playing time.
Coach’s quote: “We haven’t played in two weeks, so to get a game in before we play Derryfield next week was beneficial. We’ve been working on some things offensively, which looked good. Still working on tightening up defense, and most of all communication and intensity leading into games.” — Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 4-0
Keene 5, Concord 4
Key players: Concord — Finn Conery (9-7 win at No. 2 singles), Finn Brown (8-1 win at No. 3)
Highlights: Concord gave itself a chance to win in doubles for the first time this season thanks to the singles wins from brown and Conery. And the Tide claimed two of the three doubles matches as Knox Brown and Carter Pratt won, 9-7, at third doubles and Conery and David Bean teamed up for an 8-3 win at second doubles. But Keene’s Nick Walton and Ethan Lewis beat Finn Brown and Daniel Pedersen, 8-6, in first doubles for the deciding win.
Coach’s quote: “Our inexperience in close matches hurt us today. Finn Brown played his best singles match of the season.” — Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Keene 3-4; Concord 0-7
Concord 8, Keene 1
Key players: Concord — Eleanor Malette, Leila Spires, Joanna Dustin, Kristin Womack, Laura Houle, Emily Ahlfeld
Records: Concord 1-5
The Concord JV baseball team (4-6) lost to Exeter, 5-0. Zanis Lauris went 2-for-3 with a double for the Tide while Peyton Yearout, Dan Revellese and Jacob Plante also had hits.
Cam Burbank threw a no-hitter for Rath Young & Pignatelli in a 10-0 win against Swenson Granite. Cooper Hand led the Rath Young & Pignatelli offense with a home run and double, while Andrew King was solid in the field. For Swenson, Jacob Plodzik and Anthony Latorra both had solid pitching debuts.