Staying on the diamond, the Monitor turns its attention to the area’s baseball teams at the midway point of the season.
Plenty of teams in and near the capital have experienced success in the first few weeks, while others look to build off of good foundations for a competitive second portion. In the same fashion as the softball version, we’ll start off by looking at Division I Concord and work down by division in alphabetical order.
(All of team records were up to date prior to Thursday’s afternoon games. The updated records can be found on the online version.)
The Crimson Tide have seemingly found their footing after having a talent exodus following their state championship victory last season. Concord has developed a steady rotation on the mound, and its batters continue to develop into hard-hitting players. It’s worth noting as well that the Tide’s three losses have been close, an average differential of a little over three runs.
Concord will see Portsmouth and Exeter in the final two games of the regular season, which should provide a nice playoff flavor before the tournament starts in June.
After it opened the season with two consecutive losses, Bow has since posted a 6-1 record. The Falcons have came into their own since their 7-3 loss against Pembroke on April 15, where fielding errors were aplenty and difficulties getting on base were present. In their six straight wins, getting on base wasn’t an issue as Bow tallied 46 runs, and the fielding errors were kept to a minimal, as evidenced by 12 allowed runs.
Bow looks to continue its ascension into the second half of the season with games against Souhegan and John Stark on the schedule for late May.
Through the opening games of the season, Coe-Brown has found a mix of success and development to the tune of a .500 record. The Bears have had some big moments, including handing reigning state champion John Stark its first loss of the season and splitting a doubleheader with Hanover. Inversely, they find themselves in the midst of three-game skid where they’ve been outscored 35-8.
Coe-Brown will look to right the ship in the second half with games against Oyster River and Laconia.
The Division II champions haven’t missed a beat this season, and their title defense has been as solid as it could be. John Stark opened up the year with five straight wins and outscored its opponents 32-9 before a 4-2 loss against Coe-Brown provided the first blemish on its record in over a year.
The Generals’ title defense will see an intense ramping of competition with games against Souhegan, Hanover and Hollis-Brookline in the next few weeks.
Only five games through the scheduled 16, Merrimack Valley will certainly be one of the more conditioned teams down the stretch. The Pride’s three wins have came against Laconia, Kennett and Pembroke, who boast a combined 5-13 record. Their two losses have been against solid competition in Bow and John Stark, but they were within reason.
Merrimack Valley will play a loaded schedule throughout the rest of the season with games against Coe-Brown and a home and away with Hollis-Brookline.
Pembroke has been a team of streaks throughout the first portion of the season: one loss, one win, two losses, two wins and one loss. A pattern the Spartans look to break in the second half of the schedule will get aided through consistent improvement all around and turning those losses into wins.
The Spartans will see Souhegan, Oyster River, St. Thomas and Coe-Brown in the latter weeks of May.
The Raiders are off to one of the better starts in Division III and recently snapped themselves out of a two-game skid with wins over Newfound and Prospect Mountain. Their other three wins include a triumph over Division II foe Laconia and victories over Bishop Brady and Kearsarge. Belmont’s two losses were by a combined three runs to Inter-Lakes and Campbell.
Belmont continues its productive season with games against Winnisquam and Gilford.
The Giants started their season off with two consecutive losses but have since won two out of their last three and look to continue their success as the season goes on. Those opening losses were each by one run, which is both good and frustrating for a team that, like all the rest, is trying to make it to the postseason.
Brady’s second-half schedule includes games against Monadnock, Mascenic and Inter-Lakes, all of whom lie at or near the top of the standings.
The good: HD’s lone win was a dominant one, an 8-1 performance over Raymond in the second game of the season. The tough: In their six losses, the Hillcats have been outscored 59-4. If they can string together productive offense, you can expect the number in the win column to increase.
HD has games against Kearsarge, D-IV Hinsdale and Prospect Mountain in the second half of the season.
The Hawks have had a mostly successfully opening half to the season despite a recent loss to Bishop Brady that ended a three-game win streak. Hopkinton has scored double-digit figures in three of its six wins, including a season-high 15 against Somersworth.
Hopkinton has some competitive games on the horizon with Campbell, Gilford and Monadnock on the schedule.
The Cougars have fielded a team through seven games that have been competitive but have just came up short a few times in critical moments. The good thing is there are a few other teams in a similar situation, and the Cougars have some of those programs on back half of their schedule.
Kearsarge can turn it around with games against Hillsboro-Deering, Mascoma Valley and Newport.
The Bears snapped a two-game skid with a hard-earned win over Prospect Mountain on April 20. Winnisquam has wins over Franklin (D-IV), Somersworth and Newfound but will see a tough schedule in the back half of the season.
Games against Inter-Lakes, White Mountains and Monadnock should provide Winnisquam with tough tests close to playoff time.
Concord Christian’s hot start – winners in four of its first five games – has seemingly cooled after back-to-back losses against Littleton and Woodsville. The Kingsmen pick it back up on Friday when they travel to Profile (2-5) and then to Groveton (1-4) on Monday.
While the Tornadoes may not have had the dream start, they have certainly played against a front-heavy schedule as their opponents have a combined 26-12 record (not including D-III opponent Winnisquam).
Franklin looks toward the bottom half of the schedule for its first win and might see it against Farmington.
The Panthers recently snapped a two-game losing streak when they defeated Concord Christian on May 2 in an impressive 18-8 final.
Pittsfield will see Epping, Concord Christian and Sunapee in the second half of a competitive schedule.