Goffstown started the day with a 19-7 win over Londonderry Post 27, and followed that up with a 12-1 win over Rochester Post 7. Both games were called early because of the mercy rule.

Against Londonderry, Riley Palmer had two home runs – one scoring three runs, the other two – while Josh Lafond also had a solo homer to go with two two-run doubles and six RBIs for Goffstown, which won the game eight innings. Londonderry got three RBIs from Jeff Parker.

Goffstown followed that win up with a seven-inning win over Rochester, the second straight day Post 16 had mercy-ruled Post 7. After losing to Rochester on Saturday, Goffstown won 11-1 on Monday before Tuesday’s big win.

Steve Beal pitched seven innings, striking out six and allowing four hits for Goffstown. Lafond had two hits and three RBIs and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Rochester’s lone run came on a sacrifice fly by Chris Tilton.

Post 16 advances to the Northeast Region 1 Tournament, which starts Aug. 5 in Middletown, Conn.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, playoffs

Riley Palmer struck out 11 in eight innings for Goffstown, which scored two runs in the second and four in the third to take an early 6-0 lead. Brad York had three hits and three RBIs, while Jake Glauser and Rob Hunt each drove in two runs.

Goffstown will now face Londonderry Post 27 in an elimination game at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Holman Stadium. The teams played once during the season, with Goffstown winning 7-4 in 10 innings on June 24.

The winner will then face Rochester at 7 p.m. for the state title. Goffstown and Rochester have already played twice in the tournament, with each winning a game. Rochester beat Londonderry 15-5 in the first game of the tournament for both teams.

The tournament winner moves on to the Northeast Region 1 tournament, which begins Aug. 5 at Middletown, Conn.

The American Legion World Series will be held in Spokane, Wash., starting Aug. 13.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, playoffs

Londonderry's Steve Dvorak makes a throw to first base. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

NASHUA – It only takes one throw, one swing or one error to change the complexion of a baseball game.

But it’s not often that a game-changer happens as early as it did on Monday.

Londonderry Post 27 went from having a runner thrown out at home for the first out of the game, to scoring four times in the top of the first inning thanks to three Manchester Post 79 errors.

And once Londonderry had the lead, starter Dan Kinnon held Manchester in check for the better part of seven innings as Post 27 moved a game closer to defending its American Legion state title with a 9-4 win over Post 79 at Holman Stadium.

Londonderry will take on the winner of Monday’s second game between Goffstown Post 16 and Rochester Post 7. If Goffstown wins, Post 16 and Post 27 will play at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face Rochester for the title. If Post 7 wins, it will take on Londonderry at the same time for the championship.

For Post 27 coach Rick Brothers, just playing one more day is enough, especially after his team opened the tournament with a 15-5 loss to Rochester.

“We’re just going one game at a time now,” he said. “These kids are hungry. They won the state last year, they won a Class L championship (at Londonderry High School in 2009). I’m proud of the kids.”

Post 79 coach Rich Fosher said the same about his squad, which returned to the tournament for the first time in a while.

“We had a great year,” Fosher said. “We’re trying to build this program again. We made it to the state tournament, that was our biggest thing. Hopefully we’ll get more kids coming out.

Londonderry's Dan Kinnon delivers a pitch.

“We made a few errors in the first couple of innings and then settled down. But it’s all about pitching. Without pitching, it hurts.”

Londonderry’s Dan Lagasse started the game by drawing a walk from Manchester’s Brian Lynch, and stole second base before trying to score on a single by Jake Finnegan. Manchester center fielder Connor Lyons made a strong throw home and catcher Sean Burke was waiting for Lagasse at the plate.

“I ran into that out to start the game,” Brothers said of his decision to send Lagasse. “That wasn’t too good.”

Geoff Fisher followed with a ground ball that shortstop JR Poissant couldn’t handle, allowing Finnegan to score to make it 1-0. CJ Flanders followed with a double and DJ Reed walked to load the bases.

After Steve Dvorak struck out for the second out, Jeff Parker hit another grounder to short that Poissant couldn’t handle, allowing Fisher to score. Ian McMullen followed by sending a pitch right back at Lynch, who had trouble handling the ball. Everyone was safe on the play, including Flanders with the third run of the inning.

Vinnie Parilla hit a ground ball to second baseman Travis Sylvia, but Sylvia couldn’t handle the grounder and Reed came around to score. Parker took a wide turn at third, and when Sylvia fired the ball to third, Parker went for home. Third baseman Brendon Warnock’s throw home beat Parker for the final out of the inning.

“It was very important for us to stay out front,” Brothers said. “That team came back twice (in the tournament). You’ve got to play every single out.”

Londonderry added another run in the top of the fifth on a RBI groundout by Parker. Kinnon kept Manchester off the board until the bottom of the inning, when Post 79 used two hits and a walk to make it a 5-1 game.

DJ Reed, center, and his Londonderry teammates wait to congratulate CJ Flanders after his two-run home run.

But Post 27 got the cushion it would need in the sixth. Parillo led off with a double and came around to score on a two-out single by Fisher. Flanders followed by crushing a home run down the left field line to make it 8-1.

Manchester added a single tally in the seventh, eighth and ninth, but it wasn’t enough.

Fisher finished the day 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs for Londonderry while Flanders was 2-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs. Reed also had three hits and two walks while McMullen and Parillo had two hits each.

Poissant led Manchester with three hits and two RBIs and Jim O’Connell and Burke each had two hits.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, Londonderry Post 27, Manchester Post 79, playoffs

Post 27 will take on Post 79 at 4 p.m. at Holman Stadium, followed by Goffstown Post 16 and Rochester Post 7 at 7 p.m.

Rochester and Goffstown started Sunday’s action, with Post 7 pulling out  a 7-6 win. Chris Tilton pitched seven innings for Post 7, scattering 11 hits, one walk and two hit batters. Goffstown led 5-4 going into the bottom of the seventh when Rochester got four straight two-out base hits to go up 7-5. Post 16 got a run in the ninth to cut the lead to one.

Londonderry won its second elimination game, and knocked out Exeter Post 32 in the process, 5-4. Exeter had a 4-0 lead after five innings, but Londonderry tied it at 4 with two runs each in the sixth and seventh.

Goffstown bounced back to knock Jutras Post 43 out of the tournament, with a come-from-behind 6-5 win. Goffstown scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a two-out infield single by Brad York with the bases loaded that scored the winning run.

In the final game Sunday, Rochester remained the lone undefeated team in the tournament by pounding Post 79, 14-9.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, playoffs

Two teams – Hudson Post 48 and Laconia Post 1 – were eliminated from the tournament, which was scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

In games postponed from Friday, Post 79 defeated Jutras Post 43 6-4. Brian Lynch and Travis Sylvia both pitched well for the winners, while Sylvia and Connor Lyons each had two hits. Lyons and Brian Madeiros each drove in two runs. Josh Leferriere and Matt Lessard had three hits each for Jutras, which had 13 total, but left more than a dozen runners on base.

Goffstown Post 16 knocked off Laconia, 8-3, in the other postponed game. Michael Bisceglia went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts, and also had two RBIs. Alex Hickey had two hits and three RBIs while Josh Lafond and Ryan Beal added two hits for the winners. Ed Dobrowolski led Laconia with a two-run home run.

Jutras returned to the field to take on Hudson, and eliminated Post 48 with a 10-5 win. Travis Terrill opened the game on the mound for Hudson and struck out seven of the first 11 hitters he faced. But an injury forced Terrill to leave the game in the third inning, and an error on the same play led to four unearned runs for Jutras. Matt Blakeman led Jutras with three hits and three RBIs.

Londonderry Post 27 bounced back from a bad opening game to defeat Laconia 5-2, and knock Post 1 out of the tournament. Jeff Fisher pitched a complete game to keep Post 27 alive.

In the final game of the day, Post 79 knocked off Exeter 8-6.

Goffstown and Rochester were scheduled to play Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by Londonderry and Exeter.

Jutras and the loser of the Goffstown-Rochester game follow, and Post 79 and the winner of Goffstown-Rochester were to finish out the day.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, playoffs

Steve Dvorak and defending-champion Londonderry will look to bounce back in the loser's bracket on Saturday.

NASHUA – Rick Brothers’s pain was B.J. Gagnon’s pleasure.

Rochester Post 7 used two big innings to turn an early four-run deficit into a 15-5 win over Londonderry Post 27 in the American Legion baseball state tournament Friday at Holman Stadium. The game was called after seven innings because of the mercy rule.

While Gagnon enjoyed every minute of an eight-run fourth and a six-run seventh, Brothers was left fuming in the visiting team dugout.

“It was fun to watch,” said Gagnon, the Rochester coach. “We had some guys have some really good at bats.”

In both innings, Post 7 sent seven batters to the plate before an out was recorded. In the bottom of the fourth, Rochester batted around, sending 12 to the plate. All the damage was done in the seventh without an out ever being recorded.

Matt Grenier and Tyler Poisson each had two hits, including a double apiece, and drove in three runs while Kory Ferullo had two hits, scored two runs and drove in three runs from the leadoff spot.

Grenier also went the distance on the mound, allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks with two strikeouts. He also overcame the early deficit, and at one point, retired nine Londonderry hitters in a row.

“We didn’t have to use anybody else,” Gagnon said of his pitchers. “If we had gone eight or nine (innings), we would have probably had to use somebody else. We didn’t have to do that. We kept the pitch count decent. It also takes two innings from (Grenier) that we can add on later. It gives him an opportunity to come back for those two innings.”

Early on, it looked like Londonderry and starter Chris Crutcher would be the ones in control.

With two outs and no one on in the second inning, Jake Finnegan took what he thought was ball four and tossed his bat toward the Londonderry dugout. But the home plate umpire called it a strike and Finnegan returned to the box.

On the next pitch, he crushed a line drive that made it over the right field wall to give Londonderry a 1-0 lead.

Post 27 added three more runs in the top of the third on three hits, an error and a walk to take a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Crutcher cruised through the first three innings, striking out five. Rochester got a run back in the third, but missed out on a chance for more when Ferullo was thrown out at home to end the inning.

But then came the bottom of the fourth.

A single, a walk and an error loaded the bases before Crutcher walked in a run to make it 4-2. Back-to-back singles by Logan Zriny and Ferullo tied the game before Poisson drilled a two-run double, giving Rochester a lead it wouldn’t give up.

Crutcher recorded the first out, getting Tyler Thurber to ground out, but Grenier followed with a two-run double of his own. Rochester led 8-4 and Cruther’s day was done. Kasey Carollo came on in relief and was able to get out of the inning, but not before Post 7 added another run, making it 9-4.

“I didn’t,” Brothers said when asked if he knew Rochester could hit the way it did. “The fourth inning, they opened up the doors and we couldn’t get an out. That’s about it.”

Both teams went down in order in the fifth and sixth, and Londonderry got a run back in the seventh. Joey Hamilton and Vinny Parilla opened the inning by drawing back-to-back walks before Dan Lagasse singled home Hamilton to make it 9-5.

But Donald Reed popped up for the first out and Geoff Fisher hit into a double play to end the inning.

Rochester got the offense going in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

“I was getting a little worried there in the fifth and sixth,” Gagnon said. “We kind of shut it down a little. We got too content with a five-run lead. We can’t do that. We need to put a team away. We did a good job of that in the seventh.”

For Londonderry, Lagasse had two hits and two RBIs, while Finnegan and Steve Dvorak each had two hits.

Post 27 will now play at noon on Saturday against the loser of Goffstown and Laconia, which was scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night. Rochester will face the winner of that game at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, Londonderry Post 27, playoffs, Rochester Post 7

Exeter's Nolan Daley makes an over-the-shoulder catch during Friday's game against Hudson. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

NASHUA – One big inning wasn’t enough.

Hudson Post 48 sent 12 men to plate in one inning for the second straight game, scoring seven runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie Exeter Post 32.

But Exeter came through with a run in the bottom of the inning to pull out an 8-7 win in the first game of the American Legion baseball state tournament Friday morning at Holman Stadium.

Post 32 will now face the winner of Post 79 and Jutras, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Holman. Hudson will return at 9 a.m. to face the loser of that game in the double-elimination tournament.

After scoring six of 12 batters in the first inning of Tuesday’s one-game playoff against Bedford, Hudson’s offense was shut down for most of the day by Exeter starter Taylor Denson. In the first eight innings, Denson limited Post 48 to three hits and two walks while striking out eight.

At one point, Denson retired 14 Hudson batters in a row and only allowed two runners to get past first. Both those came in the third inning, when Post 48 loaded the bases with one out, thanks to two walks. Denson rebounded to Korey Lelievre and Adam Hagman – Hudson’s No. 3 and 4 hitters – to popup and strike out, respectively.

“Fantastic,” Exeter coach Matt Gladu said. “That’s a tribute to Taylor Denson. That’s the way he pitches. We teasingly call him Jamie Moyer because he’s the oldest guy on the team and he’s a lefty and he doesn’t throw hard and he pitches. I’m proud of him.”

Hudson coach Derek Lee was impressed with Denson’s performance, but felt his guys could have done more.

“Their pitcher kept us off balance with his off-speed pitches,” Lee said. “He did a great job. You’ve got to play for nine innings, not one, but one was almost enough. We didn’t get things started off right defensively. If we had played defense, we give ourselves a shot.”

Hudson shortstop Derek Bratton makes a throw to first base.

Exeter got two unearned runs in the first inning, and then added a few here and there to take a 7-0 lead into the final frame.

It was Lelievre and Hagman who started the rally in the ninth. Lelievre led off with a single and went to second on a passed ball. Exeter catcher Brandon Dill’s throw to second went into center field and Lelievre went to third.

Hagman followed with a towering home run to left field that chased Denson and put Hudson on the board, 7-2. Ben Callahan came on in relief and faced four batters, allowing three singles and a walk. All four eventually came around to score.

Nolan Daley took a turn on the mound and gave up a two-run single to Mitch Brun, cutting the lead to 7-5 with still no one out. Brian Lessard followed by hitting into a fielder’s choice, bringing in another run to make it 7-6.

After a flyout brought the second out, Lelievre tripled to deep center, scoring Lessard to tie the game. Daley intentionally walked Hagman and then got out of the inning by forcing Pete Radziewicz to ground out.

“They have a veteran team and I knew they weren’t going to give up,” Gladu said. “We didn’t let up, they clawed their way back into it. I wasn’t surprised.

“We needed one run. It was a tie game, we needed one run and we were the home team. The kids have been doing it all year.”

Exeter’s Dan Rashid led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single, was sacrificed to second before two walks – one intentional – loaded the bases with one out. Lou Vigras followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Rashid and ending the game.

Hagman finished the game with two hits and two RBIs, all of which came in the ninth inning. Brun also drove in two runs, but suffered the loss on the mound. He pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowing four runs on five hits with two strikeouts.

Exeter pitcher Taylor Denson delivers.

John Coughlin started the game, going five innings and giving up three runs – one earned – on four hits and a walk with one strikeout.

“Our starting pitcher had a sore arm, he gave us all he could and he did an effective job,” Lee said. “They found the holes, they didn’t hit it that hard. Give credit to the guys for not laying down. These guys never do. We’ve come back so many times this season.”

Technorati Tags: American Legion, Exeter Post 32, Hudson Post 48, playoffs

Hudson's Travis Terrill delivers a pitch during Tuesday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

NASHUA – Derek Lee was worried about losing the coin toss.

Turns out, the Hudson Post 48 coach was worrying for a whole lot of nothing.

With a spot in the American Legion state baseball tournament on the line, Hudson scored six runs in the top of the first inning and rocked Bedford Post 54, 16-0, on Tuesday at Holman Stadium. The game was called after seven innings because of the mercy rule.

Now Hudson will go on to face Exeter in the first round of the tournament at 9 a.m. on Friday at Holman.

“I thought it was going to be a 2-1 game,” Lee said. “Couldn’t have worked out better.”

Hudson and Bedford tied for second place in District B-1, each with an 8-7 record in the regular season. With the teams playing a one-game playoff on a neutral field, they had a coin toss before the game to determine who would be the home team.

Losing turned out to be a win for Hudson, which had already faced Bedford starting pitcher Joe Maher twice this season, and beaten him both times.

“We knew what to expect,” Lee said. “I’d say it was an advantage. He doesn’t lose very often.”

Bedford coach Tim Conway was just as surprised at how Hudson attacked Maher, who lasted just one inning and allowed six runs on four hits and three walks.

“Joe is one of my studs,” Conway said. “I wouldn’t expect that out of him, but it happened. He probably just ran out of gas toward the end of the season. He’s been a great pitcher for us all summer. It happens.”

While Hudson was facing Maher for the third time this year, Bedford was seeing Post 48 starter Travis Terrill for the first time this season. Terrill was solid, working himself out of tough spots in the third and fourth innings. He gave up five hits and two walks along with five strikeouts in four innings of work.

Bedford's Matt Woodmansee tries to turn a double play as Hudson's Mitch Brun slides into second.

“He was throwing a lot of first-pitch curveballs, so he was keeping us off balance,” Conway said. “And he was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes. We weren’t hitting the ball.”

Although he hadn’t faced Bedford before Tuesday, Terrill had been the rock in Hudson’s rotation all season.

“He’s been our top pitcher all year,” Lee said. “He didn’t really have his fastball, but he really located his breaking ball. He’s been our top guy consistently all year.”

Cullan Baker pitched two innings of relief for Hudson, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts, and Tyler Syphers came in for the seventh to finish things out.

Korey Lelievre led Hudson’s offense, going 2-for-4, including a triple, with five RBIs. Mitch Brun also drove in three runs while Tyler Bonin and John Coughlin each drove in two.

Post 48 sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning, and 10 of them reached base safely.

Brian Lessard led off the game with a seven-pitch at bat that ended in a walk, and advanced to third on a well-executed hit-and-run with Derek Bratton. Lelievre flied out to right field to score Lessard, and a hit and an error loaded the bases for Hudson with one out.

Bonin followed with a hit to plate Hudson’s second run, and Ethan Harley was hit by a pitch to bring in another. Coughlin added a RBI single and Brun walked to drive in Hudson’s fifth run before Lessard grounded into a fielder’s choice to make it 6-0.

Bedford's Joe Maher throws a pitch.

Post 48 added three runs in the top of the third, five in the fourth and two more in the sixth.

Bedford threatened in the bottom of the third when Mike Laflamme and Matt Woodmansee opened the inning with a single and a walk, respectively. But Terrill battled back to get the next three batters out, including two strikeouts.

In the fourth, Bedford loaded the bases with two outs, but Terrill induced Woodmansee to ground out to end the inning.

But Post 54’s best chance at scoring came in the fifth. Andrew Klimm drew a one-out walk and stole second base. After a lineout and another walk, Pat Parker singled to center field and Klimm raced around third.

The throw from Lessard seemed high, but Hudson catcher Bonin came down with the ball right in front of Klimm and tagged him to end the inning.

“They had our number all season,” Conway said. “Our kids came in with the right attitude, we just couldn’t get it done.”

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, Bedford Post 54, Hudson Post 48

Both the Hudson Post 48 and Bedford Post 54 baseball teams finished with an 8-7 record for second place in District B-1 and will play a one-game playoff to determine which one will advance to the American Legion state tournament. The tourney is scheduled to begin Friday at Holman Stadium.

Hudson won both regular season games, beating Bedford 12-9 on June 25 and 4-0 on July 13. The later game was Hudson’s last of the regular season, and after Bedford beat Keene on July 15, all it had to do was beat Nashua in its final game. But Post 54 lost to Coffey Post 3 12-2 last Saturday to set up the tiebreaking game.

Hudson and Bedford will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Holman Stadium.

Technorati Tags: American Legion, baseball, Bedford Post 54, Hudson Post 48

Souhegan's Sean McKenny gets a hand on the ball as Hollis/Brookline's Jordan Lates tries to shoot during a game Monday.

Devin Gilligan had 24 points and Brandon Len added 16 points to lead the Souhegan High School boys basketball team to a 65-40 win over Hollis/Brookline in BST Southern Division action on Monday at Rivier College.

The Sabers improved to 4-2 in the division while the Cavaliers fall to 1-5. Matt Haight led H/B with 12 points and Al Burgon had six markers for the Cavs. Souhegan opened the game with an 8-0 run and led 36-14 at halftime.

In the other game Monday night, Milford defeated Nashua North 52-40 behind 13 points from Jared Asselin and nine points from Logan Barlow. The Spartans are now 5-1 in division play.

North (3-3) got 11 points from Javon Williams and nine points each from Anthony Farmar and Jake Mellin.

Technorati Tags: boys basketball, Brookline, Hollis, Milford, Nashua North, Souhegan