BY RYAN O’CONNORFor years, coaches of the Manchester Jutras senior American Legion baseball team have tossed Bedford, Goffstown and Manchester players into a diamond- shaped mixing bowl and consistently concocted a winning recipe. Perhaps Tim Conway, who never played Legion ball, stole a page from the Jutras cookbook. On Thursday, Aug. 7, ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORIn 2005, when Pete Kiro established Goffstown’s first American Legion baseball team in 20 years, he promised his squad would reach the playoffs by its fourth season. Perhaps Kiro has a crystal ball. More likely, after serving as an assistant coach at perennial power Jutras Post No. 43 of Manchester, he just knows what ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORStanding in the dugout, watching the group of 11- and 12-year-old Little Leaguers prepare for possibly the biggest game of their lives, Paul Gagne, Bob Gurskis and their fellow Goffstown coaches had but one thing to say to the eager players. “Real men …” they shouted. “Swing wood,” came a reply ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORDavid Flurey doesn’t like admitting it, but in the back of his mind he had to set the bar a little lower. After all, his Sweeney Post 2 American Legion baseball team lost 10 players, including seven starters, after winning the state title in 2007 and earning a second trip to regionals in four years, its third in the ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORThe 2008 Fresno State baseball team is no secret to those who follow college athletics or who watch SportsCenter on a daily basis. The Bulldogs, who entered the NCAA tournament with a 33-27 regular-season record and had to win their conference tourney for an invite, took six straight elimination games to become perhaps the ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORPrior to the losers bracket quarterfinals against Manchester Westside, the Goffstown 11- and 12-year-old Little League allstar team maintained a 1.24 ERA and a .333 batting average. Following a 10-0 mercy-rule win on Monday, July 14, it’s safe to say the boys improved those already sterling numbers. “We’ve ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORIf you had asked him two weeks ago if his Memorial baseball team would be playing in the Class L semifinals, Don Menswar would have been more likely to laugh than nod. Yet that’s exactly where the No. 15 Crusaders ended up, facing third-seeded Goffstown at Nashua’s Holman Stadium on June 11. And had it not been ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORAs Pinkerton baseball manager Ron Manseau and his players boarded their bus, heads hung in defeat, a voice from behind called out. “Hey, did you guys catch something, or what?” “We caught something alright,” replied Manseau. “We caught lighting.” The shock came when the seventh-seeded ...

BY SAPNA PATHAK After losing twice to Manchester during its district tournament, the boys of Salem Babe Ruth baseball finally earned their revenge. And this time, the stakes were higher. Taking the field at Gill Stadium in Manchester for a match-up against Manchester on Saturday, July 21, Salem’s 14U squad walked away with a 10-9 win, ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR It was tournament host Manchester East’s home turf, but for at least one day, the Goffstown 9- and 10-year old Little League all-star team claimed the field – while dominating the foe. In the District 1 tournament finale, on Saturday, July 14, Goffstown, behind the stellar pitching of Patrick Viviers and ...