Candia News : baseball

Lamprey River 10 and 11s reach losers bracket finals

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:28:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

They made it further than any Lamprey River Little League all-star baseball team before them.

This year’s 10- and 11-yearolds, with players from Candia, Raymond and Nottingham, not only pushed several perennial Little League powers aside during their unprecedented run, but they gave 2008 champ Goffstown all it could handle in a 4-3 loss in the losers bracket finale on Friday, July 18.

In fact, it took a Goffstown rally in the bottom of the sixth and final inning to prevent the locals from meeting Bedford for the state championship.

Still, manager Paul Coates said it sure was a wild ride. “This team was the most relaxed, fun-loving team that I have ever coached,” he said. “I have been coaching for some time, and this group of players were always a joy. They worked hard … and never let the pressure get to them. They always respected each other and their opponent.”

That was never more evident, said Coates, than at the end of the Goffstown game, when an opposing parent approached assistant coach Carl Edin to thank him.

“(She) expressed her appreciation and respect for (Edin’s son) Adam and the other players for congratulating her son, who hit in the game-winning run. She said that she had never seen such sportsmanship,” said Coates. “This was typical of the Lamprey players throughout the tournament. Win or lose, they understood that all that was required was to give their best effort. On Friday, Goffstown was just a little better, and our players recognized their efforts in a great well-played game.”

The fact that Lamprey River suffered both its setbacks to the champs, said the manager, makes the run that much more impressive.

After beating Manchester South, 4-1, the boys were knocked into the losers bracket courtesy of a 10-0 thumping by Goffstown.

Many teams would have folded. Instead, Lamprey River came from behind to defeat Pelham, 4-2, handed Bow a 5-2 loss, then socked a solid Windham squad, 6-1, before taking down Derry American, 4-3.

“It’s very difficult in Lamprey River, as opposed to a Little League composed of one town, for the kids to come together in an all-star format,” said Coates. “This team was comprised of 14 players who all made a commitment to play. Not one kid was cut in tryouts, and right from the onset they developed a strong concept of team play. They brought four towns together and made one Lamprey River.”

Practices, added the manager, were where the players gelled.

“They never got down on themselves, and they helped each other out quite a bit,” said Coates. “There wasn’t one superstar among them. They were a true team.”

In addition to Edin, others contributing during Lamprey River’s ride include Candia’s Garrett Bolton; Raymond’s Jeffrey Bouchard, McKenna West Coates, Dennis Cowan, Alan Towle, Matthew Layman and Tim Trefethen; and Nottingham’s Alex Sprague, Jamie Sigmund, Tyler Comte, Connor Gaffney, Carter Medeiros and Benjamin Porter.

Assisting Coates were Carl Edin and Dan Gaffney. Others helping the players during practice were Tim Layman, Rob Porter, John Sigmund and Sam Towle.

‘Disappointing’ – Post 79 shows flashes, misses playoffs

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:29:00 GMT

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

His team’s year didn’t go as well as expected, but Post 79 manager George Abood said his team showed, during the last week of the season, its true capabilities.

“Disappointing. I don’t know what other word to use,” said Abood. “We had a good roster of veterans, but it didn’t work out. I had higher expectations for this year than happened. We still beat the good teams when we played our game, but with the talent we had, I think we should have made it to the playoffs.”

Finishing the season 8-12 in district play and 12-15 overall, Post 79 beat out-of-district foes Merrimack, 20-7, and Goffstown, 19-11, and lost to Concord, 7-6, and to Salem, 16-3.

But the highlight of the season, said Abood, came on July 24 against Portsmouth, a top-tier team fighting for a playoff spot.

In the 10-7 victory, Hooksett’s Kalvin Fosher, leading the team in hitting all season, knocked two doubles and blasted his fourth home run of the year in a three-RBI performance.

Matt Moreau smashed another home run, one of two hits, and Peter Gray belted a three-run shot.

Matt Gutterson and Jay Freethy combined for five hits, including a double by Freethy.

Dylan Clark, a 16-year-old, pitched eight innings, scattering seven hits and three earned runs to pick up the victory, and workhorse Andrew Schnaars of Bedford pitched the final two innings, holding the opposition to two hits and one run.

Post 79 loses 12 players off the current squad, but Abood said the team will maintain a strong core to develop around, led by 16-year-old speedster Sean Lyons of Bedford, who hit .340 at the plate and played good defense in the outfield, and occasionally the infield, all season.

Freethy also had a great season, said the manager, batting .370 and contributing stellar defense at third base and filling in at shortstop when needed.

Though none of his pitchers was consistently exceptional, Abood said Hooksett’s Matt Boyd was tough to beat on occasion.

Other locals on Manchester Post 79’s squad include Candia’s Keith Trombley and Brandon Czaja, Hooksett’s Nate Abbe and Bedford’s Bryan Lacaillade.

Lamprey River shut out of District 1 play

Hooksett Editor — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:59:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

Each team at the District 1 11- and 12-year-old Little League all-star tournament is good, and Lamprey River, with a roster full of fine athletes, is no exception. But after an opening-round win for the locals, it was a case of their good team running into simply better teams.

Following a 10-0, four-inning loss to Derry American on Saturday, June 30, Lamprey River was knocked from the tourney. The group also fell to Salem American on June 27, 9-0.

“This is a good group of guys,” said manager John Sytulek. “These last two games they haven’t hit at all, but they’re capable of much more than that.”

Early in the game against Salem American, it looked like Lamprey River was certainly capable. After leadoff hitter John Cooper of Candia grounded out on a close play at first, Jacob Gallant singled to center.

It was Lamprey River’s lone tournament hit for the next 10 innings.

Speedy Troy Pelletier reached base twice, once against Salem American in the third inning and another time against Derry American in the fourth inning. In that tourney-ending contest, Chris Souhlaris advanced Pelletier to second, and he scampered to third on a passed ball but was stranded there.

Clean-up hitter and pitching ace Jake Hamel came out of the Derry American game after one uncharacteristically wild inning. He easily retired the first two Derry hitters, but then Hamel walked four, contributing to two unearned runs that scored on an error.

The Candia native left the game with shoulder pain, having tossed 41 pitches.

That performance was in direct contrast to Hamel’s crisp 85-pitch effort – spanning 6 2/3 innings – in Lamprey River’s tourney-opening 3-1 victory against Manchester Central.

Following six scoreless frames, Hamel reached base in the top of the seventh. Then Lamprey River started to slug the ball.

First, Nate Mullen tripled, driving in Hamel. Then Collin Shaughnessy sent a fly ball to the left-field fence. It was caught, but Mullen hurried home on the sacrifice fly. A Pelletier single followed, then Mike Fitzpatrick tripled in Pelletier.

Central touched Hamel for a run in the home half of the seventh, but, with the tying runs on base, Gallant struck out the potential winning run to pick up the save.

Tim Hazam of Candia, John Tomasewski, Ben Sytulek, Zack Reardon, Jordan Richard and David Jenkins completed Lamprey River’s all-star roster.

The team is eligible to compete in the Fraser Tournament for squads with two losses in the District 1 tournament. Visit www.nhlittleleague.com for details.

Little Green make pitch to erase ’06 glitch

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:52:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

Last year was supposed to be the year. Eleven seniors, loads of talent, lots of pitching – the Manchester Central baseball thought it had it all, including a good shot to win Class L.

Instead, Central coach Andy Laroche said, three of its top players were suspended for 30 days after they were caught buying alcohol, the team was hampered by in-fighting, and, after eight one-run losses left them with a 5- 13 record, the Little Green found themselves out of the playoffs. “It should have been something better than that,” Laroche said.

A year later, it just may be.

This year’s Central team won’t enter its season-opener with Spaulding of Rochester on Wednesday, April 11, with anything approaching last year’s expectations. But after last season’s trying campaign, Laroche believes his players will enter stronger because of it.

Young players like Matt Shaughnessy and Candia’s Zach Lemire, now juniors and team leaders, gained valuable experience in replacing the suspended upperclassmen. Senior Mike Moody, this season’s No. 1 pitcher, took on more responsibility with the staff thinned. Junior Keith Trombley – a 6-foot-4, 230- pound Candia native who should catch the eye of more than a few scouts, Laroche said – also saw his first taste of varsity.

These are the good things Central is taking from a sub-par 2006. And these are the reasons this season shouldn’t be like the last.

“For us, it’s always been about getting to the playoffs, and once you’re in, anything can happen,” Laroche said, referring to the 13th-seeded Central team that won the 2000 Class L title. “So we’re trying to get back to that status.”

With a core group of seniors and a strong junior class, the Little Green intend on continuing that climb this spring.

Though admittedly short on pitching, Laroche said he’ll turn to Moody – a co-captain and owner of a good slider and drop curveball – and several others including Trombley, Lemire and Brendon McCarthy to produce enough strong outings to complement what should be a punishing lineup.

Senior Craig Martin returns to the top of the order and leads a group that includes Shaughnessy, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound hitter who may bat third; Kyle Maguire, a transfer from Massachusetts who’ll most likely handle duties at second and bat second; and a throng of power hitters – Trombley, Lemire and Anthony Malik – who, according to Laroche, “could all easily put it out of the park with an easy swing.”

Candia native Brandon Czaja is expected to play first base, Trombley said, while Jason Szelog should take over a spot in the outfield. Hooksett’s Ben Duckless also graces the Central roster.

If the Little Green can take a step forward as a program this season, the future looks even brighter with a large freshman class brimming with pitchers and the bulk of the team set to return next spring.

But Central is not going to get ahead of itself. It knows the perils of that.

“We have a lot of talent this year,” Lemire said. “We don’t have a lot of pitching, but we have a lot of fielding and defense. As long as our pitchers can make them hit some groundballs, we can make plays.”