BY JERRY LIPTAK

After handing Portsmouth its only loss of the season on May 8, Pelham was rolling. Nearly two weeks and three straight losses later, the Pythons were 10-5 and sputtering.

But in baseball, The Big Three – good pitching, solid defense and timely hitting – are great equalizers. In Pelham’s case, they’re more than that.

The local nine continued to showcase its resilient nature, ending a three-game slide with a deceivingly lopsided 8-2 win over visiting Souhegan on Monday, May 21.

Indeed, the Pythons needed Matt Levine’s complete game, James Mostone’s glove and arm at third base and a last at-bat rally to put the game away.

“One mistake would lead to another, and that’s been the case recently,” said Pelham head coach Matt Stone, referring to 3-2, 4-2 and 4-0 losses. “But today, we made the plays when we needed to.”

Twice, Mostone followed a Pelham error with good glove work to thwart Souhegan rallies.

In the fourth, after the visitors had already cut their deficit to 2-1 and threatened for more, the third baseman moved quickly to his right, grabbed a hard-hit grounder behind the bag and threw a strike across the diamond to first baseman Grant Hebert.

Then in the sixth, with Levine clinging to another one-run edge, Mostone started a 5-3 double play with runners on first and second, fielding a grounder, stepping on third and throwing to first.

At the plate, the Pythons received a two-out RBI double from Mark Catalano, an RBI from freshman Corey Couillard in his first varsity at-bat and, most especially, a 2-for-3 day from leadoff hitter Jamie Vaikenoras, who was called many things by Souhegan’s players and a pest by Stone.

“Some players are aggressive, but they don’t have the intelligence to know how to use it,” said Stone. “But Jamie’s intelligence and aggressiveness have been invaluable for us all year. He really is a pest out there.”

In fact, after Souhegan drew even at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, Vaikenoras almost single-handedly put the locals back on top, singling to center, stealing second, forcing a balk that moved him to third, where he scored on Mostone’s sacrifice fly.

Couillard’s RBI began Pelham’s sixth-inning onslaught; the hosts plated four more runs on Levine’s two-RBI single, another sac fly from Mostone and a wild pitch.

The Pythons have one regular-season game remaining. Most other Class I teams have five left.

Pelham and Coe-Brown meet at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium in Manchester on Sunday, May 27.

First pitch is at noon.