After losing its first game of the season last week, Hopkinton looked at a one-run deficit for the first four innings on Monday against Bishop Brady. But the Hawks broke through in the fifth and rode the pitching of Megan Kimball-Rhines to a 2-1 rebound win.
“This was a well-played game by two good softball teams,” Hopkinton coach Dan Meserve said. “MKR just had that look in her eyes.”
Kimball-Rhines gave up just one hit and one, and both came in the top of the first inning in Hopkinton. Brady’s Isabella Rivera led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a double from Jayden Johnson. That was all the Giants (8-4) managed and Kimball-Rhines finished with 13 strikeouts.
Brady’s Halle Laramie spun a shutout through the first four innings, but Hopkinton freshman Keegan St. Cyr executed a beautiful bunt single to lead off the fifth to start a rally. Kimball-Rhines followed with a walk and then Maddie Carmichael drove both of them of home for the 2-1 lead. Meserve scored Carmichael’s hit a double, although Brady coach Freddy Rivera thought his outfield could have kept it to a single.
“We can’t make mistakes whether it’s mental or physical, against good teams,” Rivera said. “And our offense was practically non-existent, but give credit to Megan Kimball-Rhines, she kept our hitters off balance.”
Concord 8, Keene 1
Key players: Concord — Kyleigh Gray (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI), Delaney Duford (2-for-4, run, SB), Alice Rosenberg (hit, BB; 5 IP, W, 0 R, 4 H, 8 K), Sarah Taylor (hit, run; 2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 K), Lillian Rienstra (hit, RBI, SAC), Grace MacDonald (double, run, 2 RBI), Libby Brown (hit, run, RBI), Anna Gaby (2 runs), Quincy Bolduc (BB), Jaelyn Kelleher (run)
Highlights: Concord set the tone with a six-run first inning, highlighted by the two-run blast from Gray, who is the seventh Tide player to homer this season. Rosenberg was in complete control in the circle, allowing just two runners past first and no one past second.
Coach’s quote: “It was a good, methodical win. We play them again Wednesday and could see them again in our first playoff game, so we didn’t want to show too much.” — Concord’s Sandy Smith
Records: Concord 15-2; Keene 10-4
Merrimack Valley 14, Pembroke 10
Key players: Merrimack Valley — Arie Perry (3-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI), Sadie Barton (2-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI ; 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 3 K, 1 R)
Highlights: Both teams capitalized on defensive miscues in this back-and-forth slugfest that included home runs in back-to-back at-bats for MV’s Perry in the third and fourth inning. The score was knotted at 9-9 in the sixth when the Pride scored five runs.
Coach’s quote: “Barton took control of the game in relief. ” — MV’s Kevin O’Brien
Records: Merrimack Valley 7-3; Pembroke 2-9
John Stark 6, Stevens 0
Key players: John Stark — Olivia Hargreaves (7 IP, W, 15 K, 1 H, 0 BB), Lilli Stogner (3-for-3, walk, 2 triples, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Gracie Bolduc (3-for-3, walk, SB, 3 runs), Izzy Nelson (3-for-4, double, 2 RBI)
Highlights: Hargreaves struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced and carried a no hitter into the seventh against the Division III Cardinals.
Coach’s quote: “We are playing our best softball right now which puts us in a perfect position to carry some momentum into the playoffs.” — Stark’s Gerry Morin
Records: John Stark 7-4; Stevens 8-2
Coe-Brown 7, St. Thomas 4
Key players: Coe-Brown — Madison DeCota (7 IP, W, 15 K, 0 BB, 0 ER; 2-for-4, double, HR, 4 RBI), Lily Veneroni (HR, 2 RBI)
Highlights: The Bears built an early lead and then withstood a four-run rally from St. Thomas in the fifth to claim the win in Northwood.
Coach’s quote: “We faced a solid pitcher but strung together some hits and got a couple big hits. We have to tighten up on D, but we’re getting there.” — Coe-Brown’s Dave Allis
Records: Coe Brown 10-3; St. Thomas 6-6
Bow 13, Hillsboro-Deering 1, 5 inn.
Key players: Bow — Hannah McGonigle (5 IP, 4 K, 1 H; 2-for-4, triple, 4 RBI), Kelly Harris (2-for-3, 4 RBI), Katelin Howe (2-for-3, SB, 3 runs), Annika Geiben Lynn (2-for-3), Ella Roos (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Lilly Wright (2-3, 2 runs)
Highlights: Bow broke things wide open with six runs in the fourth inning and McGonigle ended the game on the run rule with a two-run triple in the fifth that would have been over most fences. The Falcons committed just one error and McGonigle allowed only one hit.
Coach’s quote: “When the playoff bracket was released and I saw we were dealt the play-in game, I needed to conserve my only pitcher. The team did a great job keeping the game under an hour and getting quick outs.” — Bow’s Stacy Boyden
Records: Bow 5-6; Hillsboro-Deering 3-7
Concord 11, Keene 3
Key players: Concord — Jarrad Willette (4.1 IP, W, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K; 2 hits, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Brooks Craigue (1 IP, 3 K; 2 hits, run, RBI, great game at SS), Ryan Philbrick (3 hits, 3 runs, RBI, 2 SB), Nate Wachter (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Tyler Wright (hit, 2 runs), Jonah Wachter (hit, RBI), Cam McGonigle (hit, RBI), Ryan Kastle (hit, run)
Highlights: Concord scored four runs in the top of the first for a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Coach’s quote: “We got very good pitching from Jarred, Cam and Brooks. We came out swinging and were able to win going away. It was nice to see the bats get hot out of the gate. It’s always fun to play under the lights at Keene’s Alumni Field.” — Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 12-5; Keene 9-6
PA 4, Merrimack Valley 1
Key players: PA — Ryan Ardine (7 IP, W, 5 H, 1 R, 10 K, 1 BB; hit), Alex Chiavaras (2-for-4, run), Ryan Casey (2 walks, 2 HBP), Landon Pearson (hit), Matt Wagner (hit); MV — Aidan Lacasse (4.2 IP, 6 K, 1 ER), Ben Rose (2.1 IP, 0 ER), Cam Chevarie (2-for-3), Griff Wheeler (1-for-2 , double, walk, run)
Highlights: MV took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Spartans scored three in the third to take the lead for good. Both teams had five hits.
Coach’s quote: “We wasted another solid outing on the mound. We need to find out a way to clean things up.” — MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: PA 5-5; MV 4-7
Bow 9, Hillsboro-Deering 1
Key players: Bow — Ethan Clark (5 IP, W, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K, 0 BB), Ethan Gray (2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 R), Matt Lamy (4-for-4, double, triple, 4 RBI, run), Luke Wilkie (3-for-4, double, 3 runs), Anthony Constant (2-for-4, RBI)
Highlights: Bow’s Gray and Cam Evans recorded their first varsity hits in the Falcons home win.
Records: Bow 5-6; Hillsboro-Deering 2-7
John Stark 13, Stevens 2, 5 inn.
Key players: John Stark — Nathan Innerfield (5 IP, W, 0 H; 3-for-3, 4 runs, 2 RBI, triple, SB), Brady Philibotte (4-for-4, 2 triples, 4 RBI, 3 runs), Alex Moore (2-for-3, triple, 3 runs, SB)
Highlights: Stark hit through the order and scored four runs in the first, which was enough for Innerfield, who threw a five-inning no-hitter. These two teams will meet again on Monday in the first round of the Division II playoffs.
Coach’s quote: “Another good day with the bats and Nate had a good bounce back from a tough outing on Thursday. We expect a tough match up in the rematch to open the playoffs next week” — Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 8-3; Stevens 6-5
Hopkinton 20, Bishop Brady 4
Key players: Hopkinton — Ana Miller (3 saves), Signe Hogblom (aggressive defense), Rose Finlayson (6 goals, assist), Sarah Chodosh (2 goals, 3 assists), Annie Higginbotham (4 goals, assist, 8 draw controls), Hannah Hoyt (5 goals, 2 assists, 4 draw controls), Katie Brown (goal, 8 ground balls), Katelyn Bouchard (goal), Talia Despres (goal, 2 assists); Bishop Brady — Lauren Beitler
Highlights: Hopkinton had a first half shutout on its way to the road win.
Coach’s quote: “The girls played with high intensity today against an aggressive Brady team. Our defensive game was on today and something we will need to continue to improve with playoffs next week.” — Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 8-1; Bishop Brady 5-4
The Concord Reserve baseball team got contributions up and down the lineup in a 10-7 win against Bishop Guertin. Griffey Norwalt (two hits, two RBI), Mitchell Coffey (two hits, RBI), Ben Masur (hit, two RBI), Payton Yearout, Matt Jenness, Nick Reynolds, David Wicks, Josh Turant and Joey Mangone all added to the offense, and Masur pitched seven innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out four and walking only one.
Patrick Owen pitched a no-hitter to lead Banks Chevrolet to a win against Hopkinton Convenient MD in Concord Northeast Majors action. Owen finished with 10 strikeouts and two walks, and he added two hits, two RBI and three runs scored. Isaac Black (three hits, three runs) and Alex Turant (two hits, two RBI) also had good games for Banks. Aiden Clay and Nathan Spoffard each scored a run for Hopkinton.
■ In Concord Little League action, Associated Grocers improved to 5-2 with a 13-3 win over Granite State Glass. Amare Durgin (two hits) and Luke Ireland (run) led the offense for Associated Grocers, while Patrick Fennessy and Nick Mercier pitched well. Billy Mullen’s hitting and pitching led the way for Granite State Glass.
Concord Northeast Local Baskit defeated Bow Sentry Roofing. Abbie Vlacich pitched a complete game victory and delivered a three-run home run. Dorothy Ricard played a strong first base. Katie Lavoie had a timely at bat as did Katelyn Fennelly.
Concord Crush boys U-8 Black lost to Nashua South, 12-4, at Stellos Stadium. Concord’s Ethan Barry, Mathew Brenner and Conrad Neely led the charge at midfield, while Kallan Little, the random Angus Todd (14 saves) and Teddy Clemons (three saves) anchored the defense.
■ Concord Crush U-12 girls defeated Hampton 10-9 in overtime. Brooke Nelson and Gracen Arndt created a lot of opportunities with their hustle. Delaney Summers and Sydney Brown led the offense. Abby Poole made several key saves . Kyla Ngu and Madison Duffy played great on defense.
Marc Lepage aced the par 3, 133-yard fourth hole at Duston Country Club with a nine iron. The shot was witnessed by John Starkey, Billy Gould and Bruce Lampton.
Bishop Brady graduate Nick Grimbilas, now at Endicott College, was named Golfer of the Year in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
There will be a boys’ high school basketball tournament at NHTI on July 10 (contact NHTI Athletic Director and men’s basketball coach Paul Hogan at phogan@ccsnh.edu for details) and a girls’ high school tournament on July 17 (contact NHTI women’s basketball coach Dala Johnsn at mmjohnson@ccsnh.edu for detauls). Information on Hogan’s various basketball camps can be found at hogancamps.com. His Shooter’s Gold camps will be held in six different locations this summer – Gilford, Lancaster, Meredith, Enfield, Bow and Concord. Rip City Basketball Camp will be at NHTI June 21-25, Point Guard/Post Player Camp at NHTI July 1-3 and the 27th annual Specialty Basketball Camp July 22-26.