Dave Chase is the first to admit it. His seventh-seeded Hopkinton baseball team was hosting a first-round playoff contest, but the game was in jeopardy before the players even took the field.

In fact, said Chase, it was in trouble a week prior, when the Hawks blew a 10-0 second-inning lead at home against Newport and fell, 14-10.

That setback cost them the No. 5 seed and what Chase said was probably the easiest path to the Class M championship. Instead, they opened the postseason against one of the top pitchers in the state, Franklin’s Derek Sylvester.

“We ran into a better team, or at least on that day they were a better team,” said Chase following Hopkinton’s 9-4 season-ending loss on Thursday, June 5. “I mean, this kid, Sylvester, he throws mid- to high-80s. He’s going to Boston College to play (Division I baseball), and he was getting his fastball over the plate, plus both of his different curveballs, which kept us off balance.”

So when Hopkinton gave up a first-inning one-out walk, followed by a two-run home run and back-to-back doubles, Chase knew his team was in for an uphill battle.

“I give (Franklin) credit. They capitalized on good fortune and adrenaline and the next thing you know we were down four runs in the first inning, and against a pitcher like that … By the time we finally got a run it was pretty much over.”

Evan Levy hit a solo shot to make it 7-1, but the locals never drew close.

Still, Chase said he was proud of his squad’s effort.

“We ended up with eight hits and four runs … Against a quality pitcher like that, you’re doing pretty well, but still, we fell behind early and put ourselves in a position where we can’t bunt. We can’t move runners. We can’t be aggressive because we don’t want to give up those outs.”

Though the season is over, Chase said the team exceeded the expectations of many around the state.

“As I said to the guys, 13-5 is pretty impressive,” he said. “I think, in a lot of ways, we overachieved. After losing those four (starting) seniors (from 2007), I think we had a pretty rewarding season.”

Chase loses six more players, including first-team all-staters David Brandt and Matt Story, and Matt Demers, a second team all-stater. Dan Forrester, Sean Pirttiaho and Nick Babson also graduate.

“If you take a look at those six, and then the four from last year, basically we have a whole new team coming back from two years ago,” said Chase.

Yet he’s still excited for next year.

“I look forward to a lot of new faces and new energy coming in,” he said. “We may not compete for a title next year, but we’re in a pretty good spot in that we have a lot of good baseball players that are phenomenal athletes coming in. I’m excited about the youth and their potential to play. I definitely see us back in the thick of things in a few years.”

The JV team currently fields seven eighth-graders who now have a year of high school baseball experience.

And Chase has just the guys to lead the youth movement. Joe Merrow and Nick Windhurst have already been named captains for 2009.

Also likely to return are Levy, Steve Bower, Kyle Hatch, Dennis Frasier, Jarrod Rouleau, Jay LeBlanc and Jimmy Angell.