BY SAPNA PATHAK
Sitting in the back seat of the family car, the drive from Kyle Macey’s Hooksett home to Sunset Heights Elementary School in Nashua could not have felt longer. He’d seen the same roads, the same signs and arrived at the same field twice before to face the same coach; and twice, his team had lost to that coach.
But not this time.
On Friday, July 6, Macey and the all-stars of Hooksett Little League’s 11- and 12-year-old division knocked out Nashua from this year’s District 1 baseball tournament. Macey made solid contributions on both offense and defense as Hooksett downed Nashua, 6-1.
“I’ve been wanting to beat these guys for three years now,” said Macey, who put his team ahead with a two-run home run before coming in to close the game on the mound. “When I first found out we were here (in Nashua) again, I just thought, ‘We’ve got to beat this team for good.’”
Hooksett played its cleanest game of the tournament, said manager Jeff Robideaux, recording an errorless effort while putting up six runs on four hits. Starter Zach Parker threw a beauty, striking out six and allowing one run – a solo shot in the top of the third – on two hits during 5 2/3 innings on the mound.
Trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the fourth, Macey took a 2-0 knuckleball and drilled it over the left-field fence, putting Hooksett ahead, 2-1. The next frame saw more Hooksett hitting as first baseman Rick Prindiville led off with a single and Ryan Houde followed with a base hit. Leadoff hitter Zach Albert reached base on a fielder’s choice before Macey loaded the bases with an infield hit. With one out, shortstop Mike Beaudet lofted a grand slam to center field for a 6-1 Hooksett advantage.
“I was upset because I wasn’t hitting,” said Beaudet of his first two at-bats. “But coach took me aside and said to just relax and not take it so seriously. I was just so glad to give us more of a lead, I was thinking of a (sacrifice) fly, but then it carried over for the grand slam. Man, that was cool.”
Macey took the mound after Parker recorded two of Nashua’s final three outs on a groundout and a strikeout. Macey needed six pitches to get Nashua’s last batter to pop out to Hooksett third baseman Seth Gonya.
“Two games ago I told them about having a steady climb instead of a high jump through the losers bracket,” said Robideaux. “The team concept is really setting in, and it’s clearly making them play better on the field. The longer they’re in the tournament, the more relaxed they get – while I get more nervous.”
Facing Atkinson on Saturday, July 7, Hooksett saw its tourney run end in an 11-1 loss. The squad finished the tournament with a 3-2 record, the first time Hooksett has recorded a winning District 1 record in more than five years.
Rounding out Robideaux’s roster are Evan Hockensmith, Josh Wilson, Riley Cote, Joe Duffy and Thomas Richer.