BY RYAN O'CONNOR
Concord
National earned the District 1 Little League victory, 4-3, but few
could blame the players or coaches if they were doing a rain dance in
the dugout.
With Goffstown’s leadoff runner on first base in the top of the
sixth, a single bolt of lightning in the distance caused the umpires to
stop play.
Three illuminating strikes later – lightning strikes, that is –
and the game was called, Concord was victorious in the 11- and
12-year-old all-star baseball tournament and moved to the losers
bracket semifinals against Salem American on July 11.
But Mother Nature alone can’t be credited with the win.
In the fourth inning, with the two teams tied, 3-3, Concord
manager David Angus looked up at the blackening sky and changed his
strategy, deciding to manufacture a run rather than outslug the
opponent.
After Sean Mamos lined a leadoff double over the head of
Goffstown’s first baseman, pinch-hitter Austin Erickson laid down a
successful sacrifice bunt to move Mamos to third.
Cam Alosa chopped the ball back to the mound but reached safely
when the pitcher overthrew first base. The miscue allowed the go-ahead
run to score.
In the top of the fifth, Alosa gave up a one-out single but,
following a 20-minute rain and hail delay, came back to strike out the
next two batters.
“To me that was his best inning,” said Angus. “Cam went through
the heart of the order there, and he threw some nice sliders to keep
them off balance.”
The next inning, after allowing a single, Alosa was pulled because of a high pitch count.
Before backup Cody Barnhart could throw a pitch, however, the game was stopped.
“We’ve had a nice run, winning five of six so far, but tonight’s
win was the best of the bunch, beating one of the premier teams in the
state,” said Angus. “We’ve had a lot of tough losses against
(Goffstown) over the years. We were lucky to get a few breaks along the
way, and the weather certainly helped.”
Tournament notes
Four days earlier, National defeated neighboring Bow behind a two-run home run from Cody Ferns and a 275-foot shot by Barnhart.
Alosa held Bow to five hits and one run on five and two-third innings, including eight strikeouts.
On Saturday, July 7, Concord beat tournament host Manchester East, 7-3, to advance to the Goffstown game.
Bedford awaits the winner of the Concord National/Salem American
game in the losers bracket final at Manchester East on Thursday, July
12, at 6 p.m.
The winner of that game plays undefeated Manchester North for the District 1 title.