The Bedford High School baseball team turned in a solid season for a program in its second varsity season.
After a slow start, the Bulldogs won seven of nine to end the regular season, including wins over St. Thomas and Souhegan. Then seventh-seeded Bedford knocked off the No. 2 Saints and No. 3 Lebanon to reach the Class I championship game against No. 1 Portsmouth.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Clippers have been pretty good, too.
Behind the pitching of Nate Jones, Portsmouth defeated Bedford 5-1 on Saturday at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium in Manchester, giving the Clippers their third straight Class I championship and 63rd consecutive win.
For Bedford it was the end of a season in which it opened the year by going 3-4, including a 7-4 loss to Portsmouth on May 3. But in the Bulldogs’ next game, they blanked St. Thomas 10-0, handing the Saints’ their first loss, and then gave Souhegan its first loss, 7-3. Bedford also had a win over Con-Val in the regular season to go with the two playoff upsets.
Portsmouth now owns the 10th longest winning streak in the nation in high school baseball history. The Clippers’ 63 straight wins is one behind Newark St. Benedict’s, N.J. (1946-50), Naugatuck, Conn. (1969-73), Nekoosa, Wis. (1980-83) and Edwardsville, Ill. (1990-91) for sixth all-time.