Pembroke News : baseball

Pembroke Academy grabs first win with strong pitching, defense

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:41:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

After a 3-11 record in his first season as Pembroke manager, John Graziano isn’t anticipating a championship, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t expecting improvement.

And why not? The Spartans are already a third of the way to their 2007 win total, and they’ve played one game.

On Monday, April 14, Graziano’s squad traveled to Bedford and held off a late rally by the hosts to win, 8-5.

Aside from a couple base running gaffes, the manager was elated with the effort.

Not only did PA play solid defense all day, but the infield turned three double plays. “I don’t remember seeing that in a high school ballgame in a long time,” said Graziano, who added that starting pitcher Kyle Cooper, a junior, provided six innings of strong pitching. “He threw 92 pitches, which was probably 20 more than we were looking for from him, but he had a quick sixth inning,” Graziano continued. “He was just masterful out there.” Knuckleballer Nate Langone entered in the seventh and finished off Bedford.

“This is the first one … Now hopefully we can build on it,” said Graziano. “We still made some mistakes out there that hopefully we can change, but overall I’m excited about what I saw out there.”

Leading the Spartans this season are captain Ben Mitchell, a catcher who played designated hitter against Bedford because of an injury, and senior center fielder Drou Goff, who contributes both with his speedy defense and his bat.

Senior Jon Gattuso knows how to get on base, said Graziano, and Tom Steele provides stellar defense from first base. Sophomores Zach Cogswell, a third baseman, and Connor Maroney, a shortstop, are both expected to have fine seasons as they become more comfortable as high school players.

Rounding out the starting lineup are left fielder Doug Turnbull, right fielder Jake Demchak and catcher Mike Verville.

Others contributing at the varsity level in 2008 include Brandon Valley, Nate Derkacz, Geoff Soriano, Josh Hardy, Brian Pahigian and Mike Giovanditto.

Suncook edged by Bow in back-and-forth slugfest

Hooksett Editor — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:49:00 GMT

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Suncook gave Bow its best effort, but could not pull out a victory as it was eliminated from the District 1 11- and 12-year-old Little League all-star baseball tournament in a 10-9 loss on Monday, July 2.

Tim Coarre scored the first run of the game in the first inning after leading off with a walk. He came in from third when Tom Graziano was caught in a rundown.

After handing a 4-1 lead to Bow in the bottom of the inning, Suncook came right back to score two runs on a Logan David triple.

Bow scored again in the bottom of the inning, but Suncook plated two to tie the contest at 5-5.

In the top of the fourth, Suncook took an 8-6 lead on a two-run single by Zach Mabie, but could not hold on.

Following the game, Suncook’s manager, Keith Gates, said his focus in the back-and forth match-up was scoring more runs faster.

“This is what Little League is all about right here,” he said. “Neither team should feel bad.”

Two days earlier, the locals stayed alive in the tournament by defeating Manchester Central, 12-8, in what Gates called “a real seesaw battle.”

Autrey Gates started that game and pitched into the fifth-inning, throwing 87 pitches with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Colby Chown knocked in the two go-ahead runs in the fourth inning to put Suncook ahead, 8-6, and his team held on for the victory.

“We spread it around pretty good,” said the elder Gates. “Defensively, I can’t recall a single error. The other team hit the ball pretty well, but we contained it, if you can call giving up eight runs containing it.”

Game notes

Against Central, Graziano had two hits and three RBI. David, Jake Devoe and McFarland each contributed two hits and two RBI, and Gates added another two hits and an RBI.

Mabie and Brad Shaefer each delivered a base hit.

The manager said his team moves to the Fraser Tournament in search of continued offensive success.

Everyone pitches in to help PA’s effort

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:15:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

Don’t let the 1-5 record fool you. It’s certainly not putting any doubts into John Graziano. No, the first-year head coach of Pembroke Academy’s baseball team isn’t worried about what the win-loss column shows. Indeed, he’s more concerned with what he sees on the diamond.

“Our record doesn’t reflect how we’re playing,” said Graziano.

“We’ve been in every game, but we seem to have one inning where we break down and dig ourselves into a hole. In sports, you make your own breaks, and for a young team that takes time.”

The Spartans put up a solid effort, earning their first win of the year on May 2, against Class I club Fall Mountain. The 9-6 win featured the team’s first home run, strong pitching performances from two PA hurlers and smart plays on defense.

After taking an early lead, the Spartans found themselves behind in the late innings before Jake Demcheck sparked the offense, hitting the team’s first home run in 2007.

Graziano’s young squad showed signs of maturity behind leaders Ben Mitchell, the team captain and starting catcher, and center fielder Dru Goff. Senior Derick Hancock entered the game as the only Spartan pitcher to throw a complete game.

“Ben calls such a great game,” said Graziano. “Dru is outstanding in center field. He’ll jump over the fence to run down a ball. He’s our leadoff hitter, with just a beautiful swing. Derick comes in and throws strikes. He sets the tone for our younger arms.”

Graziano plays all 14 players in each game, generally using two to three pitchers per match-up.

Building game-experience leads to the confidence Graziano said his new players need. The mentor added developing his players for the future trumps wins this season.

Once-a-week classroom sessions, sliding drills done after a rainy day and practices at Legends Golf and Family Recreation have also been a part of Graziano’s technique.

“Little things like that are huge for a young team,” he said. “After our first win, I took them to Legends where each guy was in the cage, and we had a mock-practice on their fields. We’re building a house for the future, and these things keep them together.”

The Spartans host John Stark on Friday, May 11.