BY JERRY LIPTAK

Pelham High’s baseball team has a good chance to make a run at a state title – literally.

The team once again showed its speed, its ability to manufacture runs and its resiliency in an 11-10 win over defending Class I state champion ConVal on Monday, May 7.

Following a 5-4 win over previously unbeaten Portsmouth, the Pythons sport a sterling 10-2 record with a handful of regular-season games remaining.

But Monday’s game proved Matt Stone, Pelham’s head coach, was right. Before the season, he had described the team as gritty – perhaps a bit too often.

“The guys were getting on me for overusing that word,” said Stone. “They told me to go get a thesaurus and find a synonym for ‘grit.’”

However, the word is appropriate.

PHS fell behind, 1-0, on a massive first-inning home run to right by ConVal’s Zach Hutton.

Pelham answered immediately, scoring six runs in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff hitter Jamie Vaiknoras, Mark Catalano, starting pitcher James Mostone and cleanup hitter Matt Levine all reached to make the score 3-1. The Pythons, in fact, sent 11 batters to the plate.

Mostone allowed five second-inning runs in the blink of an eye to the hard-hitting ConVal lineup, but settled in nicely thereafter.

Nursing a 9-6 lead, Pelham faltered in the top of the sixth. University of Rhode Island-bound Ross Davis cleared the bases with a booming triple to center off reliever Catalano, giving the visitors a 10-9 edge.

Then the hard-throwing Davis took the mound.

Again Pelham answered, with Catalano at the front of a double steal. When the throw to third base wound up in left field, Catalano, PHS players screaming from the bench, hurried home.

In the bottom of the seventh, another successful double steal set up the winning run. Vaiknoras delivered Ryan Robidoux with a single past ConVal’s drawn-in infield.

“We don’t mash doubles,” said Stone, referring to ConVal’s numerous extra-base hits. “We can’t do that. But we’re equally effective in our own way.”

Game notes

Mike Vigeant had a key at-bat in the last of the seventh. After Robidoux drew a leadoff walk, he stole second. Vigeant found himself in an 0-2 hole to ConVal’s Davis, who recorded all four of his outs via strikeout. But Vigeant fouled off four pitches and drew a bases on balls.

Robidoux and Catalano scored three times each.

Levine and Vaiknoras had three hits apiece, with Levine driving in three runs.

Catcher Bryan Toupin plated two runners for PHS.