BY RYAN O'CONNOR
Manager Ed Coulombe’s night didn’t start off very well.
As he and three players pulled out of the Jutras American Legion Post parking lot in Manchester, en route to a must-win game at Milford, a woman ran a stop sign, plowing into and totaling Coulombe’s vehicle.
But things were better by the end of the evening.
Though Coulombe didn’t arrive at the game until the third inning, his team took a 10-4 victory over Milford, guaranteeing a playoff spot.
The July 25 match-up included 6 1/3 strong innings of pitching from Goffstown’s Taylor Vesey, who struck out seven and allowed four hits.
After missing time to injury, Bedford’s Greg DelGuidice reached base three times, all on singles.
Nick Travelyn of Bedford raised his average to .419 with a 4-for-5 performance, including a two-run home run.
“They did what we were doing the whole winning streak (12 games before consecutive losses to Hudson and Derry the prior week),” said Coulombe. “Our hitting is contagious and when we’re on, our bats are hot right through the lineup.”
The manager brought in Bedford’s Jon Nelson to close the game. Coulombe considered saving Nelson for the season finale against Keene but said he thought better of it, choosing to secure a postseason berth rather than getting greedy in an attempt to take first place.
Nelson faced eight batters, striking out four and allowing no hits.
Two nights later, Coulombe stuck to his strategy, keeping Nelson on the bench and playing reserves for much of the game at Keene.
“It was kind of a mixed-emotion loss because (a win) would have given us first place, but at the same time, it’s hard to get the kids back up for a game knowing they had already clinched the playoffs.”
Coulombe said some parents were concerned about morale after a 10-0 loss to a division rival to close the season, but he insisted he and the players shrugged it off immediately.
“We weren’t worried about it,” he said. “I wanted to start getting some of the younger kids as much playing time as possible, looking ahead to next year and just in case we need them to step in in the tournament.
“My expectations are high, there’s no doubt about it,” Coulombe continued. “If we hit and play the way we’re capable, I think we’ll go deep into the tournament. We definitely have the talent to do so.”