Nashua South baseball rallies for a win over Nashua North

NASHUA – Patience paid off on both sides of the diamond on Saturday afternoon for the Nashua High School South baseball team.

It did not look good early for the Panthers, as archrival Nashua North hit junior starting pitcher Andres Hulfachor with two runs in the first. To make matters worse, Titans senior starter Joseph Berman blanked South through three innings and only gave up one hit.

Hulfachor dug deep and did not allow any hits during the final six innings, while South’s bats came alive in the middle innings, with seven runs between the fourth and sixth during a 7-2 win at Holman Stadium.

“The North-South game is always a crazy game because you never know what is going to happen,” said Panthers coach James Gaj. “They came out swinging hard in the first with a lot of energy. Things settled down and Andres found his groove. We make an adjustment the third time through the order and that is when Berman got in a little bit of trouble.”

Sophomore Chris Keefe went 2 for 3 with a triple, double, two runs and an RBI in the ninth slot for the Panthers (6-10). South, which defeated North, 15-3, on April 24, also received noteworthy contributions by junior Jacob Smith (2 for 4, two RBIs, run) and junior Dante Young (2 for 3, RBI).

South led the hits category, 10-2, while the Panthers played mistake-free baseball and the Titans were guilty of one miscue.

Hulfachor, who threw a complete-game two-hitter, finished with eight strikeouts, walked four and hit two batters. He posted 1-2-3 innings in the second, sixth and seventh.

The Titans (5-12) were led by an impressive five-inning outing by Berman. He was tagged with the loss, but kept South off balance in the first three innings. He tallied five strikeouts and his pitch control was exceptional, not allowing any walks. In a big moment during the fourth, he struck out Panthers senior Ryan Lopez with the bases loaded and two down, keeping North in front, 2-1.

“I thought (Berman) threw really, really well,” said Titans coach Zach Harris. “He competed his butt off. He got into some trouble late, but some of it was us not making plays behind him. We have to be better in that regard.”

North came out ready to fight, as senior James Bolton led off the first with a single to right. Two batters later, senior Trevor Kelly plated Bolton with an RBI double to left-center. Kelly advanced to third on a ground out to the pitcher by senior Varun Lingadal, and then Kelly scored during the ensuing at bat on a wild pitch, giving the Titans an early 2-0 lead.

During the fourth, Panthers senior Mason Matylewski recorded a one-out single to left-center and Young blasted a two-out single through the left side. With two down and two on, freshman Albert De La Rosa put South on the board with an RBI single to left-center, cutting the deficit down to 2-1.

Keefe kept the Panthers rolling in the fifth, leading off with a triple to right-center, and then crossed home with the game-tying run on a single to left by junior Roy Santiago Sanchez. During the ensuing at bat, Smith drilled a single to center, as an error by the center fielder allowed Santiago Sanchez to race across home with the game-winning tally. South recorded four hits in the fifth, and the rally ended with a one-run single to left by Young, extending the Panthers' cushion to 4-2.

The game was put in safe hands at 7-2 with a three-run, sixth-inning effort by the Panthers. The push was highlighted by a one-run double down the left-field line with no outs by Keefe and a two-run single to left by Smith with one down. That was plenty for Hulfachor, as he only allowed one base runner during the final three innings.

“We always like beating North,” said Gaj. “It does mean a lot. We are still fighting to try to get into that (Division I) tournament. We got to do it the hard way, but we are going to try to get in.”