Alvirne's Adam Nardelli slides around the tag of Nashua South's Frank Guarino during Friday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.
NASHUA – This time, the Nashua High School South baseball team got to the ace.
A day after getting shutout on two hits by Kevin Vieuleux, Manchester Central’s top pitcher, the Panthers wasted little time in roughing up Alvirne ace Travis Terrill on Friday. South batted around in the first inning, scoring five runs, and held on for a 6-5 victory over the Broncos in Class L action.
Matt Valcourt had two hits, including a two-run single in the first inning, and also scored a run, while Brandon Cox picked up the win by going 4 1/3 innings and allowing one earned on five hits and a walk. Cox also struck out four and helped his cause with an RBI single.
Mitch Brun, Alvirne’s No. 2 starter, came on in relief of Terrill in the second inning and managed to hold South’s offense in check. Brun went six innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
After the Panthers opened up a 5-0 lead through one inning, the Broncos twice closed the gap to one run. Despite the comeback, Alvirne coach Mike Lee wasn’t thrilled by the outcome.
“Coming back is good, but when you’re throwing your No. 1 and No. 2 at them, you’d like to come away with a ‘W,’ ” Lee said. “It’s nice to come back, but I’m not happy when I have one and two available and don’t get a win.”
Alvirne's Mitch Brun delivers a pitch.
South coach B.J. Neverett was glad to see his team turn on the offense early after being shut down in its previous game.
“Yesterday we saw a good pitcher and we didn’t get him,” Neverett said. “Today we came out smoking. We hit his mistakes. He’s very good. He may not have had his best stuff today, but he’s a very good pitcher.”
The first four South batters reached base against Terrill in the first inning. The Alvirne senior recorded the first out by getting Matt Hughes to ground out to first, but a run still scored on the play.
One batter later, Valcourt made it 4-0 with his two-run hit up the middle, and he came around to score on a single by Andrew Dunn. Terrill was able to get out of the inning by striking out the last two hitters in the Panthers’ lineup.
“This was a day he just wasn’t on,” Lee said of Terrill. “Mitch Brun did a great job of keeping us in.”
Brun came on in relief after Terrill gave up a double to Ryan Gendron to start the second inning. In four of Brun’s five innings, the Panthers put a runner into scoring position, but only got one more run on the board.
“Their pitcher that came in in relief did a great job, kept us at bay and we had to hold on,” Neverett said. “They’re scrappy, they hung in there really well. We played a little defense at the end and that helped.”
But it was a defensive miscue that let Alvirne back in the game.
Dave Webster got the Broncos’ first hit of the game, singling to leadoff the fourth inning. Brun followed with a towering fly ball to center field that Jason Russo appeared to get underneath, but the ball carried a little further and glanced off Russo’s glove for a two-base error
South's Andrew Dunn tries to block the plate as Alvirne's Alex Russo tries to score.
Peter Radziewicz and Alex Russo each drove in a run to get Alvirne on the board. Russo then made it 5-3 when he and Adam Nardelli, who singled, successfully executed a double steal. Ethan Hurley then singled to center to score Nardelli and cut the lead to 5-4.
“The error in center field opened the door for them,” Neverett said. “They may still have gotten runs in that inning if we catch the ball. I think the error shook all of us a little.”
South got some breathing room in its half of the fifth. Hughes led off with a walk, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Brun struck out Valcourt and Dunn, but Russo hit a two-out double to score Hughes.
Alvirne got the run back in the sixth on a RBI single by Colton Houle. The Broncos got the leadoff runner on in the top of the seventh, but with one out, Dylan Lustig forced Radziewicz to ground into a double play to end the game.
“I thought Lustig pitched well,” Neverett said. “That was his fourth save. They’re scrappy, they hung in there really well.”