Merrimack's Shane Williams is caught stealing by Winnacunnet's Cole Joselyn during Wednesday's game.

MERRIMACK – What a way for Tim Michaud to make his first start of the season.

The Merrimack High School baseball team hadn’t allowed a run during its five-game winning streak when Michaud went to the mound Wednesday against Winnacunnet for the first time since injuring his arm in the first game of the season.

With one out in the inning, the Warriors got back-to-back singles from Cole Joselyn and Christian Cronin to put runners on the corners. Three batters in, and the end to the Tomahawks’ shutout streak was 90 feet away.

“It crossed my mind, but I wasn’t worried about it,” Michaud said. “I knew if I threw strikes and let them hit it, we’d make the plays.”

Merrimack's Ian Michaud delivers a pitch.

Michaud struck out the next batter and ended the inning with a fly out. The Merrimack hurler allowed just one more hit the rest of the way, pitching a complete game shutout as the ’Hawks won 6-0.

The sixth straight shutout extends Merrimack’s streak to 40 innings, dating back to an 8-3 loss to Timberlane on April 27.

Winnacunnet had one other runner reach third base, again putting runners on the corners with two out in the fifth. But Michaud got Cronin to groundout to Brett Glendye at third to end the inning. Michaud finished the day by giving up three hits, walking two and striking out three.

“You have to start with Tim (Michaud),” Merrimack coach Ryan Anderson said. “He was hungry to pitch (Wednesday) and he has been. He had three pitches going. He had an excellent changeup, which was setting up his fastball. He’s not overpowering, he’s sneaky fast. If he has his changeup and his curve ball going, it makes his fastball that much better.”

Mickey Gasper drove in two runs on two sacrifice flies and also had a double, while Jackson King was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Ian Therault also scored two runs and drove in another.

Andy Codair took the loss for Winnacunnet (8-7), going four innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits and five walks.

Merrimack (9-5) loaded the bases in the first inning, but managed to only get one run, on Gasper’s first sacrifice fly. The second inning started well for the ’Hawks, as Dylan O’Brien walked and Alex Krysiak singled to put two on with no one out.

But O’Brien got caught off second base by Codair and was out in a rundown. Krysiak was able to advance to second and scored on a single by Therault.

Winnacunnet's Cam Haze delivers a pitch.

After a ground out, Tom Hudon walked, and with Michaud at the plate, the ’Hawks executed a double steal to score Therault and go up 3-0.

In the fourth, Merrimack loaded the bases on two walks and an infield single by King. Hudon followed with a ground ball to second and Winnacunnet tried to turn the double play, but shortstop Joselyn dropped the ball at second, allowing Krysiak and Therault to score. After Michaud singled, Gasper added another sacrifice fly, scoring King, to make it 6-0.

“We’re doing the little things,” Anderson said. “At the plate, we’re working deeper into counts, which is making their pitcher work harder. We’re getting quality at bats and we’ve got some timely hits. That’s what it takes it.

“You always have to try to take advantage of any mistakes the other team makes. That’s what a good team will do. I think we’re a good team now, as long as we keep doing those things.”

Merrimack puts the streak on the line Thursday, when it plays at Nashua South. The ’Hawks will complete a suspended game on Friday, when they head out to Keene. That game was postponed Monday, with Merrimack leading 4-0 in the fourth inning.

Technorati Tags: baseball, Division I, Merrimack, Winnacunnet

Pinkerton's Melanie Dusseault delivers a pitch during Tuesday's game against Bishop Guertin. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

DERRY – The Pinkerton Academy softball team faces three challenges going into every game, and Tuesday, against Bishop Guertin High School, one of those challenges was to score in every inning.

The Astros didn’t quite meet that challenge, but they more than made up for it.

Pinkerton scored three runs in the fifth and six in the sixth to overcome a five-run deficit, and held off a Cardinals’ rally in the seventh to win 12-10.

Natalie Fabrizio led the Astros (10-5 in Division I) by going 4 for 4 with four RBIs, two triples, a double and three runs scored, as Pinkerton pounded out 11 hits and combined for five extra base hits. Melanie Dusseault got the win, as pitched the first two and the last two innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four.

“I love our offense,” Pinkerton coach Terry Bailey said. “We got things elevated and we hit the ball hard.

“We didn’t play very well on defense. We made some poor defensive decisions. Yes, it was wet conditions. Yes, the outfielders were slipping. Yes, the ball came up wet, but we’ve got to be able to adjust to those conditions. We didn’t run the bases well. There were some very big blunders.”

But the Astros – who made four errors in the field – weren’t the only ones dealing with tough conditions and making mistakes. Bishop Guertin committed three, including two in Pinkerton’s six-run sixth, and struggled keeping the lead.

“That’s been a big topic of conversation for us, focus,” Cardinals coach Myia Yates said. “We have to make sure we stay focused throughout the entire game. We tried to rally right back and we just fell a little bit short.”

The Cardinals (7-8) had leads of 4-1, 5-3 and 8-3, but time Bishop Guertin got out in front, Pinkerton was able to get a little closer. But even when the Astros took a 12-8 lead in the bottom of the sixth, the lead wasn’t safe, as the Cardinals scored twice in the top of the seventh, and had two runners on when the final out was made.

“It was back and forth, like a lot of our games have been,” Yates said. “They’re always working hard and trying to support each other, which is what we need.”

Jacklyn Dubois went 2 for 4 with a home run and two runs scored to lead the Cardinals, while Katie Soraghan was also 2 for 4 with a RBI and a run scored. MacKenzie Marr took the loss, giving up eight earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Pinkerton also got a big offensive day from Heather Pelletier, who was 2 for 4, with two triples and two runs scored, and Kasey Marraffa, who had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice.

Both players are part of a group of seniors who are asked by Bailey to come up with a challenge before the start of each game. The Astros go into every contest with three such challenges – with two seniors providing two of them – and on Tuesday, scoring in every inning was one of them. Pinkerton came up an inning short, going in order in the fourth, but made up for it in other innings.

“When we first started doing this at the beginning, they weren’t very good at issuing challenges,” Bailey said. “The last couple of games, they’ve had some very good challenges.

“I think they’re getting it and issuing some nice challenges and learning as a team. These challenges aren’t always from the top down. It was nice that everybody was buying into it.”

Technorati Tags: Bishop Guertin, Division I, Pinkerton, softball

Bishop Guertin's John Miller works his way to the goal while Pinkerton's Sean Conroy defends during Monday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

NASHUA – Chris Cameron thought his Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team was peaking at the right time.

After Monday’s 15-4 win over Pinkerton Academy, the Cardinals couldn’t get much higher.

Bishop Guertin played a strong first half, but it wasn’t until the third quarter, when the Cardinals scored the first four goals of the second half to take a 9-1 lead over the Astros, that they started showed their strength.

“They took our best shot,” Cameron said. “We recently started hitting our stride. They’re a young team, but they’ve been playing with passion and playing with heart, and they did (Monday). I just think we wore them down a little bit.”

Casey Burnett scored three goals and had three assists for Bishop Guertin (9-1 in Division I, 13-2 overall) while John Miller and Luke Roever had two goals and two assists each. Colin Delea made eight saves in goal and John Karanasios and Tom Hurley both added two goals.

Bishop Guertin's Colin Delea reaches up to make a save.

Pinkerton (8-3, 10-4) got a goal apiece from Evan Sweeney, Jack Hanaway, Dom Corsetto (assist) and J.D. Dudek. Pearce Connal made 10 saves, and along with Brett Connal, was mentioned by Astros coach Brian O’Reilly as two of the lone bright spots for Pinkerton.

“I thought (Pearce Connal) played well, and I thought his brother (Brett) played really well on Paul Spinney,” O’Reilly said. “They did a nice job. We need to get some other situations cleared up. You give up 15 goals and you figure you’ve got to work on goaltending, but I thought my goaltending was really good. So giving up 15 goals when you’re goaltender is really good, that’s disturbing.”

After beating Hanover and handing Londonderry its first loss last week, O’Reilly thought his team was prepared for the Cardinals athleticism.

“I thought we had gotten to that point where we were ready to run with them, but we’re not,” he said. “We did for a period of time. First quarter, even the first half was OK, but third quarter, it got away from us.”

Bishop Gueritn got out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to its ability to go from defense to offense faster than Cameron had seen the Cardinals transition all season.

“I was impressed with how our defense handled the ball,” he said. “Not only did we take it away, but we went from defense to offense at a high college level. I thought that was the difference.

Pinkerton goalie Pearce Connal reaches for the ball after making a save.

“We just kept giving ourselves possession after possession. It started with our defense. Usually, we face off at 80 percent (success); we were maybe 60 or 70 percent. That advantage wasn’t there. We got real aggressive.”

Bishop Guertin led by four at halftime, but the Cardinals’ coach felt like the lead could have been even bigger.

“First half, we left a lot of goals out there,” he said. “At 5-1, I felt like it was a 10-1 game. Their goalie played well.

“I said ‘you’re letting them hang around.’ The next thing you know, they get two goals and its 5-3, and they start believing in themselves. We needed to come out in that third quarter and really put them away. I don’t think they ever went away, but I just think we wore them out.”

The Cardinals got goals from Colin Swanson and Burnett in the first 2:29 of the third quarter to make it a 7-1 game, and Karanasios and Burnett scored 50 seconds apart to put BG up 9-1 with 6:07 left in the third.

Pinkerton answered with a goal by Hanaway just 19 seconds later, but the Cardinals tacked on two more to make it 11-2. The Astros cut the lead back to seven before the end of the third, but they’d get no closer.

The Astros finish out the regular season with home games against Salem (2-9) and Concord (2-10) before hosting Cape Elizabeth, Maine, to finish the regular season on May 23. Bishop Guertin will host Exeter (9-3) and play at Londonderry (10-1) before wrapping up its schedule against Duxbury, Mass., also on May 23.

Technorati Tags: Bishop Guertin, boys lacrosse, Division I, Pinkerton

MERRIMACK – There will be several teams fighting for a playoff spots in the next two weeks.

The Merrimack High School boys lacrosse team is no different, except that the Tomahawks have been fighting for their postseason lives for some time now.

Going into Monday’s game at Timberlane, Merrimack had won three in a row in Division II, and to have any hope at making the postseason, the ’Hawks need to win their remaining four against division opponents.

Merrimack's Chad Nevers goes to the net during Saturday's game against Spaulding. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

Merrimack also needs some help from a few teams in front of it, but right now, the ’Hawks can only worry about themselves and that’s been the reason they’re in this position, according to coach Bill Cosentino.

“When we show up, and the boys are hungry and intense, we’re very good,” he said. “There’s an outside chance. If we win out, and that means we have to go into Bedford and play them tough. A couple teams need to have some loses, too. It’s not foolproof, but we can do it if a couple of other games work in our favor.”

It’s been a bit of an up-and-down season for Merrimack (4-8). Among those wins was a 9-8 victory over Goffstown, which handed undefeated Bow its first loss last Friday.

But among those loses are a 10-9 defeat to Portsmouth, an 8-6 loss to Bow and a 13-11 loss to Dover, which Cosentino referenced an example of what the ’Hawks are capable of doing when they play their best.

“We don’t get off the bus until the third quarter,” Cosentino said of that loss. “We’re down 10-3 at one point and lose 13-11. If the kids played with that consistency the entire game, we could have won that game. It’s a matter of us not coming to play. The days we do, we’re a good team. The days we don’t, we’re not.”

Merrimack lost its next game after that loss to Dover, a 13-6 setback against Keene (5-5). After that game, Cosentino pointed out the task his team was facing if it wanted to make the postseason.

“I told them after the Keene loss, if we don’t win our next seven, there’s not a chance in the world,” he said. “So far, three wins in a row since that loss.

Merrimack goalie Robby Todd makes a save during Saturday's game.

“The difference has been at practice. We’ve been holding each other accountable. We’re trying to come together as a team, supporting each other and not being negative when things don’t go our way.”

Cosentino has noticed a difference in the way his seniors have been playing during that stretch.

“They are starting to realize that (the end is near),” he said. “You can see it in their eyes. You can’t teach being competitive. You can teach skills, you can teach strategy, but when it comes down to it, I can’t strap up for the kids. And sometimes, they don’t do it.

“We’re going to Timberlane on Monday and that would be a huge win if we can do it. If the boys show up and execute, we can win. The seniors know that, but I need the whole team to do it.”

Merrimack needs wins against Timberlane (3-8), Manchester West (0-9) and Bedford (9-0) in its final three division games and needs Winnacunnt (5-4) and Keene to lose a few games to sneak into the eighth and final playoff spot in Division II.

“We lose one and it’s most likely that the playoff run is over,” Cosentino said. “(The division) is very competitive and on any given day, it’s who shows up who is going to win the game.”

Technorati Tags: boys lacrosse, Division II, Merrimack, Spaulding

BEDFORD – The Bedford High School boys lacrosse team wants to be sitting at the top of the Division II standings when the playoffs begin in a little under three weeks.

The Bulldogs made a big step toward making that happen on Friday.

Bedford overcame a bumpy first half and did just enough in the second half to beat St. Thomas Aquinas 8-6 in a battle of undefeated teams. Thanks to Bow’s overtime loss to Goffstown, also on Friday, Bedford (9-0 in Division II) sits all alone at the top of the standings.

Noah Schwaegerle of St. Thomas tries to get by Bedford's Matt Dillon during Friday's game.

“It was (big) because we’re playing an undefeated team, so we knew that if we won, we’d have a pretty good chance of finishing the season at No. 1,” Bedford coach Matt Guerard said. “We’re sitting at the top and that’s exactly where we want to be.”

Taylor Wallace led the Bulldogs with three goals and Nate Larrivee had two goals and two assists, as Bedford scored a goal in the opening minute of each of the first three quarters. After falling behind in the second quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Saints 6-2 the rest of the way.

Matt Howe made 16 saves for Bedford while Jared Hornsby (one assist), Tyler Sullivan and Aaron Palys each had a goal.

“Matt (Howe) is a sophomore and he plays like he’s a senior,” Guerard said of his goalie. “He’s very composed in the goal and he sees the ball very well. When he starts making saves, it gives him confidence. For a young kid to have confidence like he does, it’s definitely something that’s going to help us moving forward.”

St. Thomas (8-1) got three goals from Noah Schwaegerle and two from Jake Geppert whole goalie Sebastian Olsen stopped 15 shots. But Saints coach Barry Katz felt his team made too many mistakes to have a chance at beating Bedford.

“For the majority of the game, we played a great game,” he said. “You can’t have lapses in judgment and you can’t make mistakes against a team like Bedford. They will eat your lunch if you do and that’s what happened.”

Bedford opened the game looking like it was ready to dominate. The Bulldogs scored just 39 seconds in, on a tough-angle shot by Jared Hornsby, to take a 1-0 lead, but from there, Bedford took its foot off the gas for most of the first half.

“Sometimes when you score that first goal, you go into cruise control,” Guerard said. “You’ve got to have that mentality when you get one that you want to get that second and third and so on. We got a big first goal and then give up the next one and make it a game.”

It took St. Thomas six minutes to tie the game, even though the Saints were controlling play and had good opportunities to score.

“We spotted them one and said let’s settle down and play some ball,” Katz said.

St. Thomas' Francis Quinn tries to go over Bedford's Tyler Sullivan to get to the ball.

Geppert tied the game with 5:20 left in the first when he collected a ground ball in front of the Bedford goal and beat Matt Howe. The quarter ended with the game tied, but Bedford scored in the first minute of the second quarter, this time just 37 seconds in on a goal by Wallace, to take a 2-1 lead.

St. Thomas took a little more than three minutes to tie the game this time, as Schwaegerle scored to make it 2-2, and then added another goal with 5:40 left in the half to give the Saints a 3-2 lead.

But Bedford came right back, scoring less than a minute later. Larrivee found Palys to the left of the goal and Palys sent a laser shot that seemed to surprise Olsen into the back of the net.

Larrivee gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with 1:40 left in the half. His shot bounced hard off the turf and caught the inside of the crossbar before ricocheting back onto the field. The closest official was standing even with the goal and was in perfect position to signal the score.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the second half, this time 47 seconds in, on a goal by Wallace that put Bedford up 5-3. The Saints took a couple of penalties midway through the third, and Bedford took advantage, stretching the lead to 6-3 before Geppert’s second goal cut the lead to two with 7:17 left in the quarter and Schwaegerle made it a one-goal game 26 seconds later.

It was still a one-goal game midway through the fourth, despite the pressure the Saints had been putting on Howe and the Bedford defense. Wallace finally gave the Bulldogs some breathing room with his third goal, and 36 seconds later, Larrivee add another score to make it 8-5 with 5:33 to play.

St. Thomas cut the lead back to two on a goal by Christian Going with 1:21 left, but the Saints couldn’t get any closer.

“They took advantage of the mistakes we made,” Katz said. “A couple mistakes in the fourth, a couple of blown assignments on defense, a couple looking the wrong way on offense, but for the most part, we played a great game.”

Technorati Tags: Bedford, boys lacrosse, Division II, St. Thomas

Newmarket's Jeff Carmichael slides safely past the tag of Wilton-Lyndeborough catcher Brendon Hussey during Wednesday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

WILTON – Andrew Oliver opened the bottom of the sixth with a little bit of trouble.

The Newmarket High School pitcher put two Wilton-Lyndeborough runners on and an error allowed the Warriors to cut the Mules’ lead to one.

But with no outs, and runners on second and third, Oliver battled back, getting back-to-back strikeouts before inducing a fly out to end the inning and preserve the Mules’ 3-2 road win Wednesday over the Warriors.

Oliver got the win by going the distance, striking out 12 while allowing one earned run on three hits and five walks. Sam Morin provided the offense for Newmarket (8-3 in Division IV), driving in two runs on a first-inning single, and Sean Fleming went 3 for 4 and scored a run.

“It’s a huge win for us because they’re a really good team,” Newmarket coach Stan Jurkoic said. “Make a road trip, play a good game and come out on top, we’re all psyched about it.

Wilton-Lynderborough's Tony Graziano delivers a pitch during Wednesday's game.

“I can’t say enough about how (Oliver) pitched (Wednesday). He’s a good kid and a good athlete, but he put it all together. He had his control, his slider was really nasty and he was around the plate.”

Tony Graziano took the loss for WLC (7-2), allowing two earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts in five innings. Patrick Martin pitched two innings of relief, striking out five and giving up three hits.

Martin worked out of a jam in both the sixth and the seventh by striking out two batters in a row with runners in scoring position.

“Pat (Martin) did a great job shutting them down when they had a chance to extend the lead,” Paul Trombley said. “Our pitching was very good. You give up three runs a game, you should be able to win. We hung around, we made some plays.”

The Warriors put runners on through the first four innings, thanks to four walks, but couldn’t get a hit against Oliver. It wasn’t until the fifth inning that WLC finally broke through.

Back-to-back singles by Brendon Hussey and Jonathan Schultz ended the no-hitter. Oliver struck out Kyle Jennings for the second out, but Willie Trombley singled to right field to score Hussey, cutting Newmarket’s lead to 3-1.

But that was all for the Warriors, as Oliver struck out Cam Holt to end the inning.

Then came the sixth. Oliver hit Martin and walked Justin Thibault before Graziano hit a ground ball to second baseman Jeff Carmichael. His throw to second sailed into left field, and Martin came around to score and Thibault advanced to third.

During Thibault’s at bat, Jurkoic went to the mound to talk to Oliver, but the thought of pulling his starter wasn’t on his mind.

“His pitch count was low enough for him and he was right around the plate the whole time,” Jurkoic said. “When he missed it wasn’t by much. I said don’t worry, just put it more over the plate and challenge them. Make them put it in play, and that’s what he did, he went after them.”

Newmarket's Andrew Oliver makes a throw to first base.

Oliver struck out Kyle Pratt and Hussey before getting Schultz to fly out to center field to end the inning.

“I found my groove and started throwing strikes again,” Oliver said. “My slider was working really well. It was good, I think because it’s humid out. I felt like I threw harder in the seventh inning.”

The Mules staked Oliver to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, with all the damage coming with two outs. Fleming, Evan Botterman and Morin hit back-to-back-to-back singles, with Morin’s hit driving in Fleming and Botterman.

Newmarket got another run in the fourth without a hit, as Carmichael reached on a two-base error by Jennings and went to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Nick Chapman brought in Carmichael to make it 3-0.

The Warriors had two runners on with no outs in the second, but Thibault was picked off second and Oliver struck out Pratt and Hussey to end the inning. WLC also had a runner picked off second in the third inning.

“Base running was horrible,” Trombley said. “We should have hit the ball better. We couldn’t put together hits, we left runners stranded.

“They gave themselves a chance, but just didn’t capitalize on it. That’s not the way we’ve been playing.”

Technorati Tags: baseball, Division IV, Lyndeborough, Newmarket, Wilton

St. Thomas' Andy Johnson, right, is welcomed home by Jordan Bean after Johnson homered in Monday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

HOLLIS – Not often does a high school pitcher make his first start of the season against an undefeated opponent in early May.

Hollis Brookline and St. Thomas Aquinas both sent out a pitcher on Monday who hadn’t started a game all year, as the two teams at times played a game of secrets rather than a game of baseball in the Saints’ 6-2 win over the Cavaliers.

Both teams had their best pitchers available – HB’s Mike Chase and St. Thomas’ Jordan Bean – but neither coach opted to use his best option. That’s because both HB coach Ryan Coulter and St. Thomas coach Marc Schoff viewed the game in the same way.

HB's Collin Pellerin gets under a fly ball.

“Coach (Ryan) Coulter and I were talking before the game and said the most beautiful thing about this, neither one of us loses a state championship tonight,” Schoff said. “This is about positioning and being one of the top seeds, potentially, and hosting a couple of (tournament) games and seeing how far you can go.”

And neither coach wanted to give too much away.

“I think both teams were playing a little card game, going back and forth,” Coulter said. “We didn’t throw our better pitchers and they didn’t throw theirs because there is a good chance we might see each other in the tournament.”

Instead of Bean, it was Craig Teed getting the win for St. Thomas (9-0 in Division II) after he went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. Collin Coppinger pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing a hit and striking out two.

“Teed established the strike zone early and pounded it strike zone during his five innings,” Schoff said. “I was proud of my sophomore lefthander to come in in a save opportunity and get it done.”

St. Thomas’ Andy Johnson scored two runs and hit a solo home run to lead off the second while Bean, Chris White, Steve Hemming and Jon Nartiff (two) also drove in runs.

“We ran the bases well and I thought we played really good defense,” Schoff said. “We left quite a few people on base and we by no means had any big hits, but we manufactured runs.”

Cam Lafluer had two hits and scored a run for the Cavs (9-1) and Mitch Frick had a solo home run of his own, but Coulter was frustrated with how the team performed at the plate in key situations. The Cavs struggled with runners in scoring position, going 1 for 10 with three strikeouts and a double play.

St. Thomas catcher Arran Maran tries to catch a foul ball.

“We didn’t play as good as we can,” Coulter said. “I’m disappointed with some of our at bats. We didn’t have really good at bats, our plate discipline wasn’t good. First inning, we loaded the bases and of course we hit into a double play. If we score a run there, it changes the game.”

Lafluer took the loss, allowing two runs on five hits in three innings, while Nick Siegel allowed three runs on three hits, a walk and three hit batters in two innings of work.

Frick’s homer to lead off the bottom of the fourth made it a 2-1 game, but Teed battled back to get the next two HB hitters out. Kyle Gervais kept the inning alive with a double and Siegel followed with a ground ball that made it through the left side of the infield.

Gervais went hard around third, but Nartiff picked up the ball in shallow left and Coulter opted to hold the runner at third. Teed then got Sean Connors to ground out to end the inning.

“That ball was real shallow,” Coulter said. “To get a guy thrown out at the plate wouldn’t have been good.”

The Saints tacked on three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead.

“That was a big turn of events right there,” Schoff said. “That was huge.”

The Cavs got a run back in the bottom of the innings, when Lafluer led off with a walk and scored from first on a double by Collin Pellerin. But Teed battled back to retire the next three batters, leaving Pellerin stranded in scoring position.

Jeremy Heard hit a two-out double off Coppinger in the sixth, but the St. Thomas lefty forced a groundout to end the inning.

“I’m excited because we came over here and competed and that’s all I asked them to do,” Schoff said.

Technorati Tags: baseball, Brookline, Division II, Hollis, St. Thomas

The teams will be selling luminaria bags and there will be a fourth-inning “Cap Drill,” with proceeds from both, along with admissions, going to the American Cancer Society.

The junior varsity game will start at 4 p.m., with the varsity teams scheduled to play at 7. Admission is $1 and the luminaria bags will be $5 for fans to add to the display around the field. Both can be purchased before the game from a member of either team.

Technorati Tags: baseball, Brookline, Hollis, Souhegan

MERRIMACK – The Merrimack High School girls lacrosse team had gone 14 minutes without a goal.

With the Tomahawks in trouble in the second half against Bedford, they turned to a reliable scorer to get back on track.

Lauren Perry scored six goals, three in the final 11 minutes Friday, to help Merrimack hold off the Bulldogs 15-11 in a Division II game. Tara Quinnell added four goals and an assist for the ’Hawks and Cat Green made 13 saves, including several in the second half after Bedford had twice cut the lead to one goal.

Merrimack's Amber Olson and Bedford's Alex Fink go after a loose ball during Friday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

Down three at halftime, Bedford scored the first two goals in the second half, cutting the lead to 10-9 with 12:52 left in the game, forcing Merrimack (8-1 in Division II) to take a timeout.

“That’s the longest we’ve gone without a goal,” Merrimack coach Beth Rodgers said. “I think there was a sense of urgency with the girls and it was unnecessary. We took a lot of bad shots. We didn’t move the goalie at all and we made a lot of really bad offensive decisions. We took really, really poor shots.

“They had changed their defense, so we discussed how we could attack that defense in a way that was going to work for us. We talked about taking the extra second to make the right decision on a pass and not force it.”

Perry gave Merrimack a two-goal lead a few minutes after the timeout. Bedford’s Alex Fink answered, but Perry scored again 11 seconds later to make it 12-10 and starting the ’Hawks on a 4-0 run to go up by five with 3:57 left in the game.

“I thought we played great,” Bedford coach Christine Hodgdon said. “We didn’t capitalize on our possessions on offense and we made their goalie look good. We had some turnovers at tough points in the game.

“We have been pretty good after halftime. We had the momentum going into halftime and we definitely brought it out after and that helps.”

Drew Shapiro led Bedford (5-2) with three goals and two assists while Aleah MacKay, Julie Murphy and Fink had two goals apiece. Caitlin Heaps and Kelsey Linnehan each had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs and Ashley Maddox made nine saves.

Merrimack also got two goals and an assist from Emily Pollard while Maegan Howe (three assists), Amanda Dionne (two assists) and Amber Olson had a goal each.

The ’Hawks return to action on Monday when they play a non-division game at Souhegan. Bedford also plays on Monday, when it hosts Hanover.

Technorati Tags: Bedford, Division II, girls lacrosse, Merrimack

AMHERST – Madison Learned scored five goals and had three assists to help lead the Souhegan High School girls lacrosse team to a 16-3 win Wednesday over Hollis Brookline.

Meggie Whitney added four goals and Jocelyn Donohue had three as the Sabers improved to 8-1 in Division I and 9-1 overall.

Souhegan's Madison Learned had five goals in Wednesday's win over Hollis Brookline. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

“Everyone is just doing well,” Souhegan coach Maren Petropulos said. “We don’t really have one or two scorers. In anyone given game, it might not be the same person the next day. For someone to come in and face-guard or say they’re going to take one player out, go for it. We have others. For a relatively young team, we’re deep.”

The Sabers also got a goal and two assists from Mickenzie Larivee, as seven different players scored. Souhegan goalie Megan Kolopsky made nine saves and Jamie Wallisch had three assists.

HB (5-2) struggled to score against the Sabers, missing on a few opportunities early in the game as Souhegan got out to a 5-0 lead.

“It would have pumped us up a little more to get more goals in the first half,” HB senior Caitlin Sweeney said. “We worked extra hard, we got to the field early so we could prepare. It wasn’t a lack of focus, it was just the fact that we played well, but they played better.”

The Cavaliers got two goals from Kasey Rich and Allie Kohler also had a goal. Erin Turner made six saves.

Souhegan returns to the field Friday at home in a non-division game against Bishop Guertin, while HB plays at Nashua North on Saturday.

Technorati Tags: Brookline, Division I, girls lacrosse, Hollis, Souhegan