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’CONNORIt’s uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation both parties know must take place. As practice begins, Bill Walton, the John Stark wrestling coach, pulls Morgan Belanger aside. “You know if anything inappropriate happens, you have to tell me,” he says. Belanger nods. She’s had this talk before. ...

BY SAPNA PATHAK He thought winning every game he started as a freshman at Pelham High School was a fluke. But after repeating the feat three more times, former Pythons pitcher Derek Miller couldn’t help but recognize his baseball abilities. “After my first two seasons at Pelham (High School), I had no losses, but I still ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR She was 9 at the time. Taking the pitching mound in relief, Hannah Paitchel glared in at the batter’s box. The player in the on-deck circle snickered and yelled to the hitter, “Hey, that’s a girl!” The batter, in turn, seemed to loosen up a bit. But after swinging at a third strike, he put his ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR He made the promise. His team delivered. Ernie Gauvin, manager of the Goffstown 10- and 11-year-old Little League all-star team, told fans to get to the District 1 title game early because his team would not wait to put runs on the board. Gauvin made the guarantee 11 days earlier, following his team’s 7-2 defeat of ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR Hooksett assistant coach Jim White said his team’s No. 1 priority is to improve each year as it faces similar foes in postseason all-star play. Last year, as 9- and 10-year-olds in the District 1 Little League all-star tournament, the team finished 3-2 and lost, 16-8, to Pelham. This year, in the 10- and ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR After winning the pregame coin flip, Goffstown manager Ernie Gauvin chose to be the visitor, attempting to take an early lead and demoralize his opponent. Though the plan failed, the team was successful, defeating Pelham, 7-2, on July 10, and advancing to the District 1 10- and 11-year-old Little League all-star tournament ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR It wasn’t Pelham’s week. Five days after losing in the winners bracket finale of the District 1 10- and 11-year-old Little League all-star tournament to Goffstown, 7-2, Pelham again fell, this time in the losers bracket final, to Hooksett, 10-2. Though Pelham threatened several times in both games, it ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR One year after coach Ken Kaiser led the Pelham 10- and 11-year-old District I Little League all-star team to a state championship, he and many of his same players faced poor luck early in the 11- and 12-year-old majors tournament. Five days after Pelham watched 11 of its first 15 batter, including the first seven, ...

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 ...