The last time the Hopkinton softball team was on a diamond, the Hawks were winning the 2019 Division III championship. On Monday, almost two years later, they picked up where they left off, even if there were some new faces involved.
Sophomore Maddie Carmichael delivered a first-inning grand slam in her varsity debut, and senior pitcher Megan Kimball-Rhines, the winner in the 2019 title game, worked six innings and went 3-for-4 at the plate, as Hopkinton claimed a 9-3 season-opening win at Coe-Brown.
“It was a strong opening game against a good team,” Hawks coach Dan Meserve said. “And it was nice to see some younger players step into the lineup seamlessly.”
Freshman Steph Elrick was another one of those new players who stepped up for Hopkinton, which only had 10 players available on Monday. Elrick played the entire game, splitting time between left field and third base. Two other varsity newcomers, Abby Condon and Maurgan McGrath, made excellent defensive plays in the outfield for Hopkinton.
Kimball-Rhines held Coe-Brown scoreless through the first five innings, but she tired in the sixth and gave up three runs on three hits and three walks. Jordyn Barrett worked a scoreless seventh to finish the game.
“(Kimball-Rhines) had everything going. She pitched really, mixing up speeds and locations,” Meserve said. “But you could see her get tired in the sixth. It was like she was running on fumes. Jordyn came on in the seventh and did a nice job throwing strikes, and the defense made the plays behind her.”
Maddy Follansbee went 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored a run for the Hawks, and Kyanna Landry went 2-for-3 with three runs and a double.
Bishop Brady 9, John Stark 0
Key players: Bishop Brady — Ami Rivera (4-for-4, single, double, triple, inside the park HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs), Ashley Brust (3-for-3), Isabella Rivera (hit, walk, 3 runs, 2 SB), Gwen O’Keefe (hit, run, SB), Jayden Johnson (7 IP, W, 6 K, 4 hits, 3 BB); John Stark — Grace Bolduc (hit), Izzy Nelson (3 IP, 4 K), Lili Stogner (hit), Diana Stafford (hit), Olivia Hargreaves (3 IP, 4 K)
Highlights: Ami Rivera hit for the cycle at Rollins Park, and she and her sister Isabella Rivera each scored a run in the first, third and fifth innings to pace the Brady offense. Brady’s Johnson also helped her own cause with a pair of sacrifice fly RBI. O’Keefe collected her varsity hit, and later scored, and Evelynn Irizary laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt in the fifth to plate another run.
Coach’s quote: “Solid team performance getting nine runs on nine hits and a nice defensive effort behind Jayden’s complete-game win. Great to see Ami hit for the cycle in the first game of the season to get our offense on track.” — Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Bishop Brady 1-0; John Stark Regional 0-1
Bow 10, Pembroke Academy 6
Key players: Bow — Katelin Howe (4-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 triples, double, walk, 3 runs), Kelly Harris (2-for-3, run, RBI), Lily Wright (1-for-4, triple, RBI, ), Hannah McGonigle (7 IP, 8 K, 9 hits, 1 ER; HR, 3 RBI)
Highlights: Bow got great defense at second base from Annika Geiben Lynn and behind the plate from Harris, and Howe powered the offense from her leadoff spot as the Falcons earned the season-opening win on the road.
Coach’s quote: “The game was back-and-forth through the first five innings. Hannah (McGonigle’s) home run in the seventh sealed the deal. It was a good first game.” – Bow’s Stacy Boylan
Records: Bow High School 1-0; Pembroke Academy 0-1
Concord 8, Goffstown 0
Key players: Concord — Jonah Wachter (7 IP, 1 hit, 3 BB, 13 K), Nate Wachter (3-4, 3 RBI, HR, run), AJ Fennelly (3-for-4, 2 RBI, run), Tyler Wright (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Kevin McDonough (2-for-2, run)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide didn’t waste any time building a lead in Goffstown. Concord scored four in the top of the first inning on an RBI double from Wright and a three-run home run from Nate Wachter. A two-run single from Fennelly in the fifth added insurance runs, even if Tide starter Jonah Wachter didn’t need it.
Coach’s quote: “Good win today against a very strong program. It was nice to get out to an early lead. Jonah pitched a tremendous game and we were able to tack on a few more late. Great team effort. We host them on Wednesday.” — Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 3-0; Goffstown 2-1
John Stark 12, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: John Stark — Austin Hazzard (5 IP, W, 1 R, 2 hits, 6 K; 3-for-3, 2 RBI, double), Brady Philibotte (3-for-4, HR, 3 runs, 2 SB), Cooper Rivers (1-for-3, 3 RBI), Ben McKean (2-for-3, 2 runs, SB), Brandon Firman (2-for-3, run, 2 SB); Bishop Brady — A.J. Partington (hit, run), Jake Blake (RBI), Michael Thresher (hit)
Highlights: Rivers came through with a two-out, two-strike, three-run hit against Brady starter Connor Treybig to give John Stark a 3-0 lead in the top of the first in Concord. The Division II Generals broke the game open with six runs in the sixth off the D-III Giants. The two teams will meet again on Thursday in Weare.
Coach’s quote: “It was great to get on the field and play a game today. We know we have some good talent, but with the lack of many practices and no scrimmages, we weren’t sure what we would get today. The top of the order and Austin’s pitching carried us in the beginning, but by game’s end the whole lineup started to really swing it well.” — Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
“John Stark is a very good D-II team. Connor couldn’t get a feel for his breaking ball and our defense didn’t do the job today either, but the Hazzard kid pitched a good ballgame and Stark hit the fastball, so give them credit. They were the better team today.” — Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: John Stark 1-0; Bishop Brady 0-1
Bow 13, Pembroke Academy 1
Key players: Bow High School — Matt Lamy (3 IP, W, 1 hit, 6 K, 2 BB; 2-for-4, 3 RBI, run), Kyle Martin (3-for-5, double, triple, 3 runs), Myles Rheinhardt (2-for-3, two doubles, RBI), Calen Smith (3-for-4, double, run, 2 RBI), Ethan Clark (2 IP), Connor Lee (1 IP), Alex Boisvert (1 IP); Pembroke Academy – Landon Pearson (1-for-2, HBP), Cove Boucher (1-2, BB) and Caleb Pinter (1-1, double)
Highlights: Bow scored two in the top of the first and pushed the lead to 5-0 with three more in the top of the fourth on its way to the win in Pembroke. The two teams meet again on Thursday in Bow.
Coach’s quote: “Good fundamentals for our first game in, well, a long time! Nice way to open the season with good efforts on the mound and up and down the batting order. Will make some adjustments and look to improve in every game.” — Bow assistant Dennis Ordway
Records: Bow 1-0; Pembroke Academy 0 – 1
Coe-Brown 6, MV 4
Key players: MV — Griffin Wheeler (3-for-4, 2 runs), Aidan Lacasse (2-for-4, run), Ben Rose (2-for-4, 2 doubles), Aiden Wood (2 shutout innings), Owen Bernier (2 shutout innings)
Highlights: Coe-Brown scored two in the bottom of the first and four in the bottom of the second to take early control of this game in Northwood, which was the season-opener for both teams. They meet again on Thursday in Penacook.
Coach’s quote: “Great to see the kids back on the field. Now we have some work to do.” — MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: Coe Brown 1-0; MV 0-1
Hopkinton 19, Kearsarge 5
Key players: Hopkinton — Armen Laylagian (2-for-4, 4 RBI, 3 runs), Peyton Marshall (1-for-2, 3 runs, double, RBI; 1.2 IP, 0 hits 2 K), Max Aframe (3.1 IP, 1 hit, 4 K), Hunter Boissy (1-for-1, RBI), Colby Boissy (1-for-2, 2 RBI); Kearsarge — Nick Taylor (1-for-2, 2 RBI), Greg Biagiotti (1-for-3, RBI)
Highlights: Hopkinton jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first and added on in the second and third innings to take a commanding lead 10-0 before Aframe tired and Kearsarge scored 3 in the fourth. The Hawks took advantage of 14 Kearsarge walks on their way to the win season-opening win in North Sutton.
Coach’s quote: “Sophomore catcher Armen Laylagian had a couple of quality at bats knocking in four runs while catching a great game. Marshall came in and shut the door when Kearsarge started to rally. I’m happy with the boys. It was the first varsity game for eight players today and we did some good things.” — Hopkinton’s David Chase
Records: Hopkinton 1-0; Kearsarge 0-1
Pittsfield 13, Prospect Mountain 5
Key players: Pittsfield — Gavin Bedell (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 K), Casey Anderson (2-for-3, run, 3 RBI), Jesse MacGlashing (1-for-1, HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB)
Highlights: The Panthers put up six runs in the top of the sixth to take command late of this game in Alton. Anderson came through with a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs and MacGlashing delivered a three-run home run. Bedell was solid on the mound for Pittsfield with five strong innings.
Coach’s quote: “Very happy with how these young kids played tonight. We had three freshman get their first start in a big game and they all played well. Still lots to work on as a team.” — Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Pittsfield 2-0; Prospect Mountain 2-1
Concord 15, Nashua North 2
Key players: Concord — Danny O’Brien (5 goals, 2 assists), Sam Nichol (5 goals, assist), Eaton Tarbell (goal, 3 assists), Brody McGonigle (goal), Joey Tarbell (2 assists)
Highlights: After dropping two games to Bedford last week, Concord earned its first win of the season with this convincing decision on the road. O’Brien and Doherty each had two goals and two assists in the first quarter as the Tide built a 6-0 lead after one. O’Brien scored two more in the second and Concord had a 10-1 lead by halftime.
Records: Concord 1-2; Nashua North 0-2
Mitchell Coffee had three hits and struck out nine over five innings of work on the mound as the Concord High reserve baseball team beat Londonderry, 7-2. Griffen Norwalt, David Wicks and Nick Reynolds also had hits for Concord, and Matt Janness closed out the game on the mound.
The Liberty Utility Red Wings defeated the Bow Auto Parts Blue Rocks, 15-6, in a Bow Cal Ripken Youth Baseball matchup. Brecken Wurster, Dylan Ouellette and Jordan Boute led the Red Wings offense, and Wurster allowed just one run in three innings on the mound. Ryder Michaud led the Blue Rocks at the plate with a single and two doubles, while Jack Urban, Jayden Mondello and Owen Cloutier all contributed solid defensive efforts.
■ Kole Hines, Cam O’Rourke and Cullen Tierney all pitched well to lead Bank’s Chevrolet to a 3-1 win against Hopkinton in Concord Northeast Majors action. Preston Alosa and Jack Noel also played well for Bank’s, while Tommy Dwyer had two hits and pitched two innings for Hopkinton.
Bob Bean, 81, had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole of the Loudon Country Club using a five wood. The shot was witnessed by Eric Christensen, Steve Curry and Charley Henry.