Neverett was the head coach of the Panthers for 17 years, leading them to four championship game appearances and two Class L titles – one in 2001 with a unified Nashua team, and another in 2005, the first year after the split.

South coach resigns – Nashua Telegraph

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The game didn’t begin until just before 10:30 p.m. and ended around 12:30 a.m. The loss snapped Bedford’s six-game winning streak, and was just the team’s second in 11 tournament games.

Post 54 starter Lucas Olen battled through six innings after getting hit in the leg with a line drive in the second inning. Zach Husband had two of Bedford’s four hits.

Bedford plays Las Vegas at in Saturday’s second game.

Gaffney keeps rolling with 12-1 win – The Star

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Lucas Olen pitched all eight innings, scattering four hits while striking out eight. It was the third straight win for Olen, who shut out Dover in the New Hampshire final before giving up just one run in 17 innings at the regional. Bedford went 5-0 in the regional tournament, and has won 18 of its last 20 games, including 9-1 in the two tournaments.

Pat Parker was named the most valuable player of the regional tournament after going 3 for 4 with a solo home run, three runs scored and two RBIs against Whitestown. Parker batted .524 for the tournament, leading Post 54 with 11 hits, including two doubles and a homer, and five RBIs. The pitching staff of Olen, Joe Maher, Tom Hudon, Ryan Mossman and Spencer Damon allowed just four runs – two earned – in the five regional games.

Bedford (20-5) will now head to Shelby, N.C., for the ALWS, and are scheduled to play Southeast champion, Gaffney, S.C., in the second game of a doubleheader that starts at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Bedford earns trip to Legion World Series – Union Leader

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Mossman, who hadn’t started a game all season, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning,  and Pat Parker drove in two runs and scored another for Bedford. Mike Skilton also scored twice for Post 54, which hasn’t lost a game in the Northeast Regional.

Bedford will face Whitestown (N.Y.) Post 1113 for the championship Monday at 1 p.m. If Bedford loses, the teams would play again at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the ALWS in Shelby, N.C.

With win, Bedford one victory from American Legion World Series – Union Leader

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Bedford's Lucas Olen delivers a pitch during Wednesday's championship game.

NASHUA – There is truth to the saying that pitching and defense win championships.

Just look at the Bedford Post 54 baseball team.

Bedford was superb in both areas during the entire New Hampshire American Legion Tournament, and Post 54 was at its best in the championship game, as it shut down Dover, 9-0, to win the title Wednesday at Holman Stadium.

Lucas Olen pitched a five-hit shutout, walking just one and hitting a batter with seven strikeouts, while his defense was nearly flawless behind and the offense took advantage of every Post 8 miscue to post its highest run total of the tournament.

Bedford’s offense wasn’t pretty, as it managed just seven hits and left 14 men on base. But Post 54 took advantage of nine walks, three hit batters and five Dover errors to remain as the last one standing. Bedford will now play in the Northeast Region 1 Tournament, starting Aug. 4 at Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

“In these tournaments, I think it’s all about your pitching depth,” Bedford coach Tim Conway said. “All season we were tested. We played six games in seven days two weeks in a row and it got us prepared for this.”

While other teams were running the same three or four guys out to the mound, Olen was the only pitcher Bedford started twice. He went six innings in a win over Rochester on Friday, and he knew that if Bedford made the final, he’d get the ball again.

When that happened, Olen was ready to go. With his slider, changeup and curveball working, he went away from his fastball, and at times, made Dover’s hitters look silly.

“He was masterful,” teammate Tom Hudon said. “That was … we couldn’t have gotten anything better.”

“Lucas was amazing,” Conway said. “The swings they were taking indicate how well he was pitching. You can tell when he’s on and he was on.”

Conway thought about making a pitching change late in the game, but Olen persuaded him not to.

“Everything worked so I’m happy,” Olen said. “I got to pitch nine innings. I’ve never thrown a nine-inning shutout before. It’s a new mark for me and I’m happy with that.”

Bedford's Matt Woodmansee fields a ground ball Wednesday.

Dover put two runners on in the first on an error and a single by Ian Seaward with one out, but after that, Olen settled, putting down the next 11 batters in order. The only glitch in that stretch was a base hit by Steve Carlberg in the third, but Olen quickly erased the runner by picking him off first.

The leadoff man reached for Dover in the fifth, but after a sacrifice, Olen struck out the next two. In the sixth, Mike Calabrese had a one-out single, but again Olen got out of the inning.

In both the seventh and the eighth, Dover put two runners on, and both times Olen escaped the jam.

“I don’t let it get to my head and I’m focused on the batter,” Olen said. “Whatever I do, I know my defense is going to back me up. Our defense was great. It helps when you’re pitching because you can just rely on your defense and you don’t have to make the batters strike out.”

Bedford took a 1-0 lead in the first on a sac fly by Justin Walsh. Post 54 could have had more, but Dover appealed that Bedford’s Joe Maher had left second base early on the play and Maher was called out to end the inning.

Post 54 added two unearned runs in the third and two more in the fifth on a two-run single by Ian Urquhart, making it 5-0 Bedford.

Two walks, a hit batter and a fielder’s choice got Bedford another run in the sixth, and Mike Skilton, who was named tournament most valuable player, and Maher each drove in a run in the seventh, putting Post 54 ahead 8-0. Tim Michaud led off the eighth with a double and came around to score on an error to make it 9-0.

Skilton finished the game with two hits, three runs and a walk, while Pat Parker also walked three times. The most interesting stat line belong to Maher, who didn’t record an at bat after walking three times before being hit by a pitch in the sixth and recording a sacrifice fly in the seventh. He also scored two runs.

Inside the numbers

Only one team averaged fewer runs than Bedford during the tournament, but yet Post 54 looked like the most dominate team in the state.

How? Bedford was the only team to allow fewer than five runs per game, and it really wasn’t even close. Post 54 gave up just two runs a game, including two shutouts, while Nashua Coffey Post 3 was second, allowing 5.75.

A bit surprising, since Bedford had averaged close to nine runs a game during the regular season.

“I think that’s an indicator of a good team, when you can win in different ways,” Conway said. “In the playoffs, we didn’t average a lot of runs, but our pitching and defense were there.”

Redemption

For a lot of the players, this championship makes up for what they were unable to do during their high school seasons.

A team comprised mostly of players from Merrimack and Bedford high schools, both groups came up short in their respective school tournaments.

“This is come closure,” Hudon said. “It is an all-star team from Merrimack and Bedford, which have two good high school programs. Last time I won a state championship, I was nine and it was my Little League team. That was exciting, but nothing more than this.”

First game: Dover 10, Rochester 9

Ian Seaward’s single in the bottom of the ninth scored Tyler Cash and Steve Carlberg to give Post 8 the opportunity to play for the championship Wednesday.

Rochester's Alex Gray makes a diving catch.

Seaward’s bases-loaded hit came just a half-inning after Tyler Thurber’s two-run double had given Rochester a 9-8 lead in the top of the ninth.

Cash picked up the win despite allowing Thurber’s hit, while Carlberg pitched eight innings for Dover, allowing six earned runs on nine hits and three walks. Seaward finished the game 4 for 6 with four RBIs and two doubles, while Carlberg scored three times and drove in a run.

Kory Ferullo got the loss, as he allowed two runs on five hits and a walk in two innings of work. Starter Chris Tilton went just 1 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on one hit and four walks. Matt Griener, who pitched five innings Tuesday against Nashua, threw another five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks.

Thurber and Grenier drove in two runs each for Rochester, which reached the last day of the tournament for the second straight year, but came up short again.

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Day 6 of the New Hampshire American Legion Tournament at Holman Stadium.

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Day 5 highlights from the New Hampshire American Legion Tournament.

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Dover's Mike Calabrese slides safely into home as Bedford catcher Jordan St. Jean reaches for the ball during Tuesday's game.

NASHUA – The Bedford Post 54 baseball team lost Tuesday night, and might be in a better situation because of it.

Bedford’s 4-3 loss to Dover Post 8 in the New Hampshire American Legion tournament means that Post 8 will have to play Rochester Post 7 at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The winner of that game will then have to play Bedford at 7 p.m. at Holman Stadium for the title.

A win by Post 54 Tuesday would have meant Bedford and Rochester would have to play Wednesday at 4 p.m., and if Rochester had won, the two teams would have played again at 7.

Instead, Bedford will get to sit back and watch as its opponent has to battle through nine innings of baseball.

“I didn’t tell the team, but the way I was thinking was that we want them to beat up on each other before we have to play them,” Bedford coach Tim Conway said. “This will give us the opportunity to throw everything we have at them.”

And Post 54 will have everything to throw at whoever wins the first game, thanks to Sam McClain’s eight innings on the mound Tuesday. Thanks to that performance, Conway didn’t have to use any of his other pitchers, and all will be well-rested, with Monday’s rainout having given them another day off.

Robert Greenleaf scattered nine hits and two walks while allowing one earned run over seven innings for Dover Tuesday, and Tyler Cash worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the ninth to end the game.

Dover got all of its runs in the fourth inning, as Mike Calabrese and Chris White drove in two runs each in the bottom of the frame after Bedford had gone up 1-0 a half-inning before.

McClain allowed all four runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Tom Hudon and Justin Walsh each had two hits for Post 54, while Mike Skilton, Pat Parker and Matt Woodmansee each scored a run.

Skilton and Joe Maher both walked to open the ninth, but Cash got Parker to pop up before fly outs by Walsh and Hudon ended the inning.

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Rocheste's Bobby Dow, left, celebrates with Chris Tilton, center, and Tyler Thurber after hitting a home run during Tuesday's game.

NASHUA – The Nashua Coffey Post 3 baseball team stood around the visiting dugout at Holman Stadium Tuesday evening.

Some players looked mad. Others had a look of disbelief on their faces.

Who could blame them? Anyone who saw the 18-5 loss to Rochester Post 7 coming should probably go buy several lottery tickets.

Just two days before, Nashua looked unstoppable, scoring 31 runs in 14 innings while giving up two over the same stretch. But Coffey Post’s bats were cooled off in a 3-0 loss to Bedford Post 54 on Sunday, and then came the rain Monday, suspending play with Nashua up 2-0 against Rochester in the bottom of the second.

And while the postponement was troublesome for Nashua, it was a blessing for Post 7.

When play resumed, Rochester (17-3) scored three runs in the bottom of the second and seven more in the third. Matt Grenier replaced Nick Fontaine on the mound, and retired 14 of the 17 batters he faced, and Bobby Dow supplied plenty of offense, going 4 for 5 with seven RBIs and coming up a triple short of the cycle.

“What goes around comes around,” Nashua coach Kevin Palanski said. “I just didn’t think it would come around that quickly.”

Christian Ferlan took the loss, struggling through an inning and a third Tuesday. Rochester took advantage of three Nashua errors in the third inning, as six of the seven runs Post 7 scored were unearned. Relievers Jimmy Fasso and Pat Clapp didn’t fare much better against Rochester.

“Ferlan looked good (Monday) and not as strong (Tuesday),” Palanski said. “He has to stay ahead of batters and hit his spots. Our pitching just wasn’t up to snuff. They’re a great team and we can’t take anyone lightly. We didn’t get the pitching and the defense.”

Rochester did, as Grenier went five innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks, and Post 7 avoided the mistakes that it made earlier in the tournament.

Nick Reed had two hits for Nashua while Joe Breen had a solo home run to lead off the fifth inning. Brandon Karkhanis, Ryan Gendron, Joe McCarthy and Adam Leith each drove in a run.

Nashua (14-5) had won six straight before it lost to Bedford Sunday, and Palanski was still proud of how Coffey Post had reached the tournament for the first time in four years.

“To come back and win our last four games just to get in, I told them, they’ve come a long way,” he said.

Rochester will now play Dover at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Dover defeated Bedford, 4-3, in the second game Tuesday, and the winner of Wednesday’s game will play Bedford at 7 p.m. for the title.

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Day 3 highlights from the New Hampshire American Legion baseball tournament at Holman Stadium.

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