BY RYAN O'CONNOR

When Salem Post 63 coach John Ryan heard his American Legion tournament game had been delayed an hour and a half, he cringed.

He said the worry had nothing to do with sitting around and waiting, but because the delay meant his team would have to play under the lights at Memorial Field in Concord.

According to Ryan, his team has won one evening match-up that he can remember in his four years and though 5 p.m. isn’t late by midsummer standards, a dark overcast sky meant the halogen bulbs above the field would be lit at game time.

For the second consecutive night, Salem lost.

But the players were still in good spirits following the 9-1 defeat at the hands of Laconia.

“We’re still the best-looking team in the tournament,” quipped several of the players.

“And you’ve got the best-looking coach,” added Ryan.

Eric Simm, though his fourth and final season ended with a loss, put the upbeat moods of his teammates into perspective by recognizing how far the program has come during his time.

“It’s pretty amazing because in my first and second year we would be surprised if we even won a game. I mean, we would be surprised if we even put up a fight,” said Simm. “The last two years have had the opposite effect where we expect to win every time we play.”

Ryan concurred, noting his team has trended upward since establishing the program four years ago, winning two games the first year, four the next, jumping to 13 victories in 2006 and earning 14 wins and a five-way tie for first place this season.

“My only regret is that we won’t have Brian White back or Eric Simm,” he said of next year’s squad. “Unfortunately we’re losing Connor Nolan, too, who won us four or five games last year and four this year.’

Still, Ryan’s team is young, and with feeder programs through Pelham’s and Salem’s high schools and the American Legion junior baseball league, he said there is no reason why the team won’t continue improving each year.

“Most of the kids who were starting out there today were born in ’89 or ’90, and they’ve got a lot of time left here,” he said. “They were playing against kids that were older than them, so they did well.”

Prior to the loss to Laconia, Post 63 lost to Sweeney, 13-4, and won its opening-round match-up against Jutras, 9-0, behind seven innings and 10 strikeouts from Nolan.

For the tournament, Salem’s Peter Allain went 5-for-12 with a double, a stolen base and two runs; Mike Romano batted .333, going 4-for-12 with a double and an RBI; and Windham’s Brad White offered three runs, an RBI and a stolen base.

Windham’s Matt Hardy added two hits, two runs scored and an RBI, and Salem’s Hal Landers knocked in three runs on four hits and crossed the plate once.

Pelham’s James Mostone smashed a solo home run, doubled and came home three times.

Against Jutras, Salem’s Joe O’Dell hit a two-run double and then was knocked home, and Jeff Dennis went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBI.

Simm contributed a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

“They played hard. They know they did. I’m proud of them,” said Ryan. “Maybe one day we’ll get lights at our field, and we’ll learn how to play under them.”