Concord High had three guaranteed chances to get out of its deficit, and there was no better group than the middle of its lineup to get things started.
Five pitches for Nater Wachter, and he flied out to deep center field. One pitch and a fly out for Cam McGonigle. Three pitches and ground ball to third for the out at first at Dan Revellese’s at-bat.
Three up, three down in the bottom of the seventh was a microcosm in the Tide’s 3-1 loss to Windham (11-10) on Thursday at Memorial Field in the opening round of the NHIAA Division I baseball tournament.
Concord, throughout its 18 regular-season games, hadn’t struggled to score runs – or rally. The No. 5 Tide totaled 134 runs, and the fewest they scored during the almost two-month season was three twice, against Bishop Guertin and Portsmouth.
But their unusual efforts started early against the Jaguars and, in retrospect, the first inning was the indication. Concord let in a run in the top of the first off an RBI single by John Haga, who had runners on first and third. The inning ended when Brooks Craigue pitched his first of four strikeouts, but the early-game struggles translated to the offensive end.
A quick out by leadoff hitter Kalan Gaudreault followed with a walk to Craigue. Wachter struck out swinging, and with no hits and two outs, the Tide found themselves in a seemingly insignificant hole that only got deeper as the game continued.
The first inning was also the start of an unpleasant trend for the Tide, where they left two runners stranded on base in four consecutive frames.
“We just didn’t get that big hit that we needed,” Concord coach Scott Owen said. “That’s baseball; it happens, unfortunately, more than you’d like it to.”
The Tide had runners in scoring position in those four innings.
A sacrifice bunt from Dylan Miles advanced AJ Fennelly and Jack Reynolds to second and third base, but two strikeouts closed out the inning. The Tide collected their only run in the third inning with an RBI single from Revellese but couldn’t sustain the production as the Tide flew out to close the frame.
Another tough outing in the fourth had the bottom of Concord’s lineup collect two outs then two walks and a stolen base, but a pop fly into right field ended another potential scoring chance.
Windham, which tacked on insurance runs in the third and seventh innings, lost to the Tide in the season opener, 8-4, on April 12 and experienced an up-and-down season. Starting pitcher Keegan Parke had Concord figured out, as he tossed six strikeouts and let up three hits.
A year after winning the program’s fifth state championship, No. 5 Concord (13-7) ends its season in the first round of the playoffs, but good things are on the horizon for next season. The bulk of its starters return, including Craigue, Wachter and Revellese.
Still, ending the season earlier than planned stings, but there’s no regret in spite of the outcome.
“These kids did everything we asked them to do, and they left it all out on the field today,” Owen said. “We just didn’t do enough to win.”