CONCORD – April break for the Crimson Tide began in Londonderry, featured a 4.5-hour drive to Cooperstown, N.Y. and ended back in the state capital with Concord wrapping up a 4-0 week beating Trinity on Friday, 7-6.
Despite having won three in a row entering the matchup with the Pioneers, the offense was averaging just two runs per game over that stretch. Against Trinity, the Tide’s bats seemed to re-awake from a week-long slumber, but it wasn’t because of a bunch of home runs or extra base hits. Concord’s ability to manufacture runs stood out.
Locked in a scoreless tie in the third inning with a runner on first, the Tide executed a hit-and-run perfectly; Dan Revellese took off on the pitch, and Dawson Fancher lined a single through the vacated second base hole; Trinity’s right fielder committed an error allowing Revellese to score, putting the Tide ahead 1-0. Later that inning, Mitch Coffey padded the lead with a sacrifice fly, and in the fifth, Zanis Lauris added an insurance run with a sac fly of his own that gave Concord a 6-4 lead.
After Trinity evened the score in the top of the sixth, the Tide took the lead back for good in the bottom half of the inning. A fielder’s choice from Jacob Plante with the bases loaded drove home Fancher.
Concord had six hits in the game; all but one, a Nate Wachter double, were singles.
“Danny’s fast at first, and sometimes you just take the pressure off him. I gave (Fancher) a hit-and-run, and all you gotta do is swing. It’s on me if it goes wrong,” head coach Scott Owen said of the play in the third inning that jump started Concord’s offense. “I thought we hit the ball well after that the rest of the game. Left a couple guys out there, but overall it was pretty good.”
Zach McCoy started on the mound, not allowing a hit over 3.2 innings. He did walk five, though, which led to Owen pulling him in the fourth. Freshmen Alex Turant and Noah Chrabalowski pitched the middle innings, providing some depth in the fourth game in seven days, before Wachter slammed the door in the seventh.
The pitching certainly wasn’t as smooth as the first three games this week, but the Tide prevented the game from getting out of hand.
Friday’s game aside, the arms have stood out as the key catalyst to the team’s 8-2 start to the season.
Against Londonderry last Saturday, Brooks Craigue tossed a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 win. Against Souhegan on Wednesday, Matt Drewes led the way with a complete game of his own in a Tide 2-1 victory. Then on Thursday facing Dover, Craigue twirled another gem, allowing just one hit in another shutout.
“They have both been phenomenal,” Owen said of his top two pitchers. “They don’t walk guys. They pound the strike zone. They compete. They keep kids off balance. Their stuff’s good, but they’re better because they compete. … That’s what every pitcher needs to strive to be. They work fast. They’re fun to watch.”
In addition to the strong pitching, Owen hopes the team’s midweek journey to the site of the Baseball Hall of Fame pays dividends in terms of the group’s cohesion on and off the field. Beyond the two games played, the team visited the hall of fame museum, played quite a bit of whiffle ball, had a couple team dinners and watched the Bruins and Celtics playoff games.
“Those are the things they’re going to remember,” Owen said of the trip. “They’re not going to remember this Trinity game. They’re going to remember the Cooperstown trip. Those are the things that are lifelong. Lifelong friendships, lifelong memories, and we just try to foster that in the program. Anyone who’s played sports, they remember those types of things. You don’t remember the games when it’s all said and done. It’s a great experience and great trip. The kids were great. We had a blast.”
Added Wachter: “It definitely helps our team chemistry, makes us more of a family I feel like.”
All the winning helped make it a fulfilling week, too. Through 10 games, the Tide now sit third place in Division I. The two teams above, Londonderry and Exeter, have both played fewer games, and Concord holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Lancers thanks to last Saturday’s win. In other words, as the calendar flips to May, the Tide is right where it wants to be.
And the victory over Trinity to wrap up school vacation became all the more sweet because it was Concord’s first time winning its Friday game this season.
“This is a great Friday and capped off a fantastic week going to Cooperstown,” Owen said. “Great vacation week for us.”