Senior pitcher Wyatt Divers battled. Foul after foul, he just needed one more out. He went back to his slider low and away — and finally, a swing and a miss. Divers threw his glove into the air as the crowd erupted.
Belmont baseball defeated Derryfield, 10-2, to crown itself state champion for the first time since 1988 on Saturday afternoon.
“I feel like a million bucks,” Divers said.
Divers stayed focused on the mound the whole day. He gave up an early run, but his team had his back on offense.
Closing it out wasn’t easy, but he got the job done on 107 pitches. In fact, Divers pitched nearly every out for Belmont in the Division III playoffs.
Divers struck out seven, allowed six hits, two walks, but most importantly he earned the win.
“He just went right at them, trusted our defense and we made the plays we had to today,” Raiders senior catcher Brayden Townsend said.
In a lot of ways, it felt like Belmont had been playing with house money all season. Just two years ago, they were in Delta Dental Stadium, but lost to Monadnock. Last year the team graduated a large and talented class of seniors. The Raiders lost as the first seed in the first round to Derryfield, and it felt like their chance at a championship had passed.
Instead, in 2026, Belmont shocked the division with another strong run. The Red Raiders earned the third seed with a 14-2 record, smashing through their division.
Head coach Matt LeBlanc gave all the credit to his players. They were the ones who believed and they were the ones who put the time in.
“We feel like we’re the best hitting team in Division III, putting up runs all year,” LeBlanc said proudly about his team’s big win.
On its run to the championship, Belmont dispatched Winnisquam, Fall Mountain and Bishop Brady. The game against Brady came down to the wire, but the Raiders flipped it in the last inning to win, 6-5.
The state championship win against No. 5 Derryfield (16-4) started a little shaky, too. Divers got two flyouts to earn two outs. Then, he walked Derryfield’s Keith Townsend.
Townsend promptly stole second on the second pitch of the next at-bat and beat out a throw to second with a slide. A single by starting pitcher Jake Larson to left field drove in the Cougars’ Townsend to score. Going down 1-0 to start the game didn’t scare Belmont, though.
The Raiders’ Brayden Townsend got the offense started in the bottom of the first. He hit a single to open it up. Then, Divers drove one into center field. Senior Wyatt Bamford hit a hard grounder to short that was booted. This time, the Townsend in Belmont black and red scored and it was tied up.
Junior shortstop Max Ryder loaded the bases on a walk. Two RBI groundouts later and Belmont was ahead 3-1.
The third inning is when Belmont really broke open the game. Batter after batter, the Raiders looked unstoppable. They poured in another seven runs on three hits and a walk.
Bamford started it this time with a single. Ryder, junior Jack Crockford and freshman Sam Binder all stayed disciplined to walk and score Bamford. With bases loaded and no outs, the lineup eventually returned all the way around to Bamford.
Every player got on base for the Raiders, and every one came around to score. Seniors Eddie Rochenski and Brady Fysh both came in clutch with big hits to bat in runs at the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup.
The defensive effort was all around clean by Belmont. Derryfield had scored 21 runs during its run to the championship and the Raiders held them to just two.
It was exactly the kind of day the team wanted to have. The 38-year wait ended in confident and comfortable style.
“To be able to get this done is an amazing feeling,” LeBlanc said.
