Lincoln comes through again, hurls Londonderry past Bedford to D1 baseball title

MANCHESTER - Londonderry High School baseball’s Nolan Lincoln was not a household name entering the 2019 baseball season.

The junior pitcher had no varsity innings to his name, which left Londonderry coach Brent Demas with no real expectations about what Lincoln was capable of contributing.

It turns out Lincoln had everything to give and he proved it once again in Monday’s Division I championship game at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Lincoln twirled a four-hitter to lead No. 4 Londonderry to a 1-0 win over No. 6 Bedford, giving the Lancers their first title since 2014.

“I heard from the fall baseball guys that he was going to be a stud,” said Demas of Lincoln. “I didn’t quite believe it, but I don’t think I’ll ever doubt it again. The kid is the definition of a stud.”

Lincoln was locked into another pitching duel with Bedford ace Trevor Anibal, who mirrored Lincoln’s dominance besides a Sean Cavanaugh RBI single in the fifth inning that proved to be the difference in the ballgame.

Efficiency was key for Lincoln as he needed 60 pitches to get through the first five innings of his outing before finishing at 94. The righty never faced more than five batters in an inning and did not yield a walk while striking out four for Londonderry (19-5).

“(Monday) it was really all about my fastball location,” Lincoln said. “I was able to hit inside and outside with great movement on the pitch. They were rolling over it a lot to get us a lot of grounders.”

Lincoln faced Bedford (15-7) in Londonderry’s regular-season win over the Bulldogs where he spun seven innings of two-run ball. Seeing Lincoln for the second time this season was bound to either help or hurt Bedford, and Demas wasn’t surprised his righty came through again.

“I think he was just prepared for all of this,” Demas said. “We know it’s very difficult to prepare for Nolan because he throws 84-85 but has three other pitches he can throw for a strike in any count. He just throws strikes.”

Bedford stranded runners at second base in four innings, including the seventh.

“We tracked his pitches the first time and he was pretty similar this time,” Bedford coach Billy Chapman said. “I think we knew what was coming most of the time and we just couldn’t execute.”

Anibal was the tough-luck loser for Bedford, scattering three hits while striking out seven in a 73-pitch complete game.

The lone hiccup for Anibal came on Cavanaugh’s RBI single, which was set up by a Nick Cote stolen base after he reached on a single of his own a batter earlier. Demas knew opportunities against Anibal would be limited, which prompted the two-out steal for Cote.

While getting Cote in motion was important, Cavanaugh’s base knock was no small feat itself. The bloop single came after simplifying an aggressive, anxious approach earlier in Cavanaugh’s at bat that yielded one mighty swinging strike two pitches before the junior’s single.

“We had to settle him in a little bit,” Demas said. “With him, I know what to say to him and when to say it. In that particular time, he had to calm it down and he did. He put the bat on the ball, which is what we preach.”

Londonderry’s ability to make the most of its lone run and have it be enough fell in line with a lot of its work throughout the season. The 1-0 win on Monday made the Lancers 9-3 in games decided by two runs or fewer this season.

“I knew we were good and would be competitive, but I’d be lying if I said I expected this,” said Demas of the season. “There was a string of extra-inning games earlier in the year where we kept coming back again and again, and Bedford was actually one of those games. It takes a little luck to win some of those games, but we had that, mental ability and the physical talent to get here and do this.”