The game started with some difficulties – no umpires. It didn’t end the way Bishop Brady wanted it, either – a 5-3 Coe-Brown win. But in between Brady senior Ami Rivera reached another athletic milestone.
Rivera passed the 1,000-point plateau for the Giants girls’ basketball team when she was a junior, and on Wednesday she recorded her 100th hit for the Brady softball team.
“I think I responded to 1,000 points with more excitement, just because the way basketball is played, it’s more upbeat, but I was still happy for 100,” said Rivera, who will be playing both sports next year at Gordon College while she studies sports psychology.
Rivera knocked out her 100th hit in the first inning and finished 4-for-4 with a triple, RBI and a run scored.
“She’s very good, and the whole top of their order are professional hitters, seriously, they put on some great at-bats,” Coe-Brown coach Dave Allis said. “So, (pitcher) Madison (DeCota) had a fight on her hands, that’s for sure.”
DeCota and Brady starting pitcher Halle Laramie both had some extra time to warm up at Rollins Park when the scheduled start time of 4 p.m. came and went without umpires arriving.
Since the Giants were the home team, they were responsible for the umpires, so coach Freddy Rivera got on the phone and made some calls to fix the scheduling mixup. Soon enough, Lou Manias and Tim Bill arrived to call the game and the first pitch was thrown around 5 p.m.
“It was great of those guys to show up last-minute like that,” said coach Rivera, who added that he didn’t argue a single call for the entire game.
He also got to wear his proud dad hat for a moment during a quick pause in the game after Ami got her 100th hit and the team came out to celebrate with balloons and a sign.
“I’m proud of her, and this was a really great accomplishment in just three years for Ami since last season was canceled due to COVID,” he said.
Division III Brady (6-3) couldn’t capitalize on Rivera’s hit, and the D-II Bears (9-3) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Courtney Thomas doubled and then scored on a single from Aislin Burt, who plays with many Brady athletes during summer softball.
After DeCota shut down the Giants in the bottom of the second, Coe-Brown built her a 5-0 lead in the third. Hailey Pruett led off with a four-pitch walk, Ava Fitzgerald (two hits) singled and DeCota delivered a sacrifice fly to score Pruett.
A pair of Brady errors extended the rally, and then Autumn Stevens came through with a two-run triple and Lily Veneroni (two hits) had an RBI single.
The Giants got one back in the third when Rivera’s triple plated Evelynn Irizary. They scored another run the fourth when Margaret Sheehan drove in Laramie. They loaded the bases and cut the lead to 5-3 in the fifth on a fielder’s choice RBI from Ashley Brust, but Coe-Brown and DeCota escaped that jam without any further damage. Holding that lead brought an extra measure of relief for the Bears, who coughed up five runs in the top of the seventh against Brady on Monday in a 7-0 loss.
“This was a nice win for us, especially after we booted the ball around a couple days ago,” Allis said. “We’re so young and inexperienced. That will happen, but we’re getting better every time out there. It’s a great group. They love to learn and they love to grow.”
Concord 7, Manchester Central 4
Key players: Concord — Olivia Crawford (hit, run, 2 SB), Kennedy Ramos (hit, run), Anna Gaby (hit, run, SAC), Alice Rosenberg (hit, walk run, RBI; win in relief, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 4 K), Libby Brown (hit, RBI), Kyleigh Gray (walk, run), Elizabeth Blinn (H, RBI), Lillian Rienstra (hit, run, SB), Maddy Wachter (RBI, SAC), Delaney Duford (run, SB), Sarah Taylor (save, 2 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 4 K)
Highlights: Concord scored in every inning but the third, but found itself in a close game. Central managed just two hits, but scored twice on wild pitches and once on a passed ball and held an early lead before the Tide pulled away.
Coach’s quote: “It was one of our worst games as far as execution, decision making and intensity, but that shows us what to work on if we want to go far in the postseason.” — Concord assistant coach Sandy Smith
Records: Concord 13-2; Manchester Central 1-9
Concord 4,
Manchester Central 3, 8 inn.
Key players: Concord — Jonah Wachter (6 IP, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB; 2 hits), Cam McGonigle (2 IP, W, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K), Nater Wachter (2 hits, run), Jarrad Willette (2 hits, run), Brooks Craigue (double, run, RBI), Ryan Kastle (RBI single)
Highlights: Trailing 3-1 going into the seventh, Concord scored two to tie it before Kastle delivered the game-winning hit in the top of the eighth and McGonigle shut the door in the bottom half.
Coach’s quote: “Great game by both teams. Jonah and Cam were sensational on the mound today. We got some big hits and plays late in the game. The boys did not stop battling tonight.” — Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 11-4; Manchester Central 4-6
Coe Brown 5, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Coe Brown — Thomas Trumble (3-for-4), Harrison Flood (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Josh Warner (2 IP, W, 0 H, 0 ER); Bishop Brady — Connor Treybig (7 IP, 11 K), Darren Earley (hit, RBI), A.J. Partington (2 hits, triple, 2 RBI)
Highlights: Bishop Brady scored three runs in the bottom of the first on Earley’s RBI single and Partington’s two-run hit. Treybig made the lead stand up for six innings before Coe Brown rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh on a combination of infield hits, defensive miscues by the Giants and a big two-run single from Flood.
Coach’s quote: “It was a well-pitched game by both teams. We had a few things go our way in the seventh, and our smart baserunning helped us come back to win.” — Coe-Brown’s Greg Gilbert
“We played great for six innings. Unfortunately, it is a seven-inning game, so in the end we didn’t get it done. Connor pitched great and deserved a better fate, but we didn’t play well defensively in that seventh inning and it cost us.” — Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Coe Brown 8-2; Bishop Brady 6-3
Manchester Central 5, Concord 4
Key players: Manchester Central — Jonas Weissberg (8-6 win at No. 1 singles against Daniel Pedersen), Will Delaney (8-5 win at No. 2 against Finn Conery) Concord — Tyler Coskren (8-5 win at No. 4), Carter Pratt (8-2 win at No. 6)
Highlights: Concord won two of the three doubles matches (Conery and David Bean 8-1 at No. 2; Coskren and Knox Brown 8-4 at No. 3), but the Tide had to sweep all three courts after losing four of the six singles matches.
Coach’s quote: “Central was the hungrier team today and deserved to win. Unforced errors into the net hurt us badly. Despite their narrow losses, Pedersen and Conery played some of their best singles of the year.” — Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Manchester Central 2-7; Concord 4-8
Bow 7, Bishop Brady 2
Key players: Bow — Dominik Jurcins (8-4 win at No. 1 singles), Colby Smith (8-5 win at No. 3), Aiden Munro (8-0 win at No. 4), Noah Leuchtenberger (8-0 win at No. 5), Oliver Dolcino (default win at No. 6) Bishop Brady — Cy Yvars (9-7 win at No. 2)
Highlights: Bow clinched the match in singles, and then claimed two more points in doubles with an 8-5 win at No. 2 from Connor Reed and Dolcino, and another default point. Brady’s Yvars and Ryan Achong combined for an 8-3 win at first doubles.
Records: Bow 5-3; Bishop Brady 0-8
Pembroke 7, Coe-Brown 2
Key players: Coe-Brown — Nolan Grassi (8-4 win at No. 1 singles), Sam Dupuis (8-3 win at No. 2)
Highlights – Pembroke ended its regular season with a five-match winning streak after this decision in Northwood.
Records: Pembroke 7-3; Coe-Brown 3-4
Coe-Brown 6, Pembroke Academy 3
Key players: Pembroke Academy — Helen Cika, Keelin Cripps, Madeline Apgar, Sarah Bennett
Highlights: Apgar claimed an 8-4 win at No. 4 singles and Bennett won at No. 5, 8-5, to give the Spartans a shot going into doubles. Cika and Cripps won, 8-5, at second doubles, but Coe-Brown took the other two matches for the win.
Coach’s quote: “This was senior night for the girls and all three seniors, Helen, Keelin and Madi won one match each. This was a great way for the seniors to end the regular season.” — Pembroke’s David W. Goulet
Records: Coe-Brown 5-4; Pembroke Academy 0-8
Alyssa Hines (three runs, three hits, two RBI), Lily Hackett (two runs, two hits, double, RBI), and Lilly Boulton (run, hit, RBI) led the Concord High JV softball team to an 11-9 win against Coe-Brown. Makenzie Tourdoff (three strikeouts, no walks, win) and Savanna Andersen (save, three strikeouts) combined in the circle and Emily Brock was solid at second base to anchor the defense for the Tide.
Zach McCoy pitched four innings of relief without allowing an earned run as the Concord JV baseball team (7-7) beat Sanborn, 16-7. Kal Gaudreault, Karl Surmanis, and McCoy drove in two runs apiece for the Tide.
Concord Northeast’s Local Baskit defeated Hooksett Pizza Man in Majors softball action. Abbie Vlacich (complete-game win), Annabelle Norwalt (double), Fiona Luce (defense at short) and Kiley Taylor all contributed to the win for Local Baskit. Gianna Hyde pitched a stellar game for Hooksett while Aislynn Hyde, her sister, caught.
Cameron Hodgman from Concord Northeast’s St. Mary’s Bank hit a walk-off home run to give St. Mary’s a 12-11 win over the Bow Liberty Utilities Red Wings. Elliot Kaulbach, Drew Steinberg, Seth Bartlett and Jameson Todd also had hits for St. Mary’s Bank. For the Red Wings, Brecken Wurster and Dylan Ouellette each had multiple hits, and Wurster and Ben Valence had strong performances on the mound.
Kiwanis defeated Banks, 9-5 in Babe Ruth baseball. Josh Turant, Noah Chrabolowski and Griffin Norwalt combined for 11 strikeouts on the mound for Kiwanis. Kale Washburn and Carter Lavoie each tallied hits in the win. Matt Jenness pitched well for Banks while Joey Simpson and Ryan Stephensen each had hits.
Cheryl Murphy scored her second career hole-in-one on Wednesday at the Concord Country Club. Murphy used her driver to cover the 194 yards, and the ball disappeared into the cup.
Nancy Geiger was her playing partner and witnessed the ace.