Hanover
The Lebanon High baseball team got payback for an early-season loss on home turf against Hanover on Friday, outscoring the Marauders, 15-12, in a shootout at Dartmouth College’s Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. In a season of difficulty for both squads, Friday’s high-scoring affair seemed to make it a lot easier to push their collective offensive woes into the past.
For Lebanon (5-10), the victory was a long time coming. Its 10-8 loss at home against the Marauders on April 21, Raiders head coach Doug Ashey said, was not indicative of what his team was capable of. Ashey insisted Lebanon has played better in recent weeks, even if the standings have not reflected it. Friday’s game was a chance to prove Lebanon has become a better team.
“This is a great win for us,” Ashey said. “We needed this win, and we need it badly.”
Hanover’s 12 runs were its biggest offensive production since April 23 against Pembroke, a 12-0 win that gave the Marauders a 2-1 start to their season. A lot has changed since then, as coach John Grainger’s young team continues to grow. But Grainger was happy with his team’s performance.
“In every game we’ve been in, we haven’t stopped fighting,” Grainger said. “Today was a perfect example. … It’s sort of been the story of our season so far. We don’t give up, but we just can’t seem to make the right plays or get the big hit to end up on top.”
The loss dropped Hanover to 3-9 and extended its losing streak to seven games.
Lebanon struck early in the first inning, taking advantage of a shaky start from Hanover’s Moises Celaya. The Marauder sophomore hit Lebanon leadoff batter Caleb Broughton on his first pitch of the game and allowed two subsequent hits to Nate Perkins and Matt Sullivan to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
Hanover answered in the second, helped out by four Perkins walks. Braxton McNulty hit a leadoff double to deep left field to start things off for the Marauders, later scoring off an RBI single by David Seigne. Perkins gave up a two-run RBI single to Marc Hampers with the bases loaded to put the Marauders ahead, 4-2.
Celaya started showing signs of fatigue in the fourth, giving up five hits and two walks. Joah Moss drove in Andrew Hadlock from second base, and Perkins added on with a two-RBI single to give Lebanon the 6-4 lead.
The Raiders added to it with two runs in the fifth inning. Just like that, Hanover had a mountain to climb.
“This was a good one for us,” Ashey said. “The kids swung well at the plate all day long. We put a lot of balls in play.”
Hanover kept pace throughout the game, adding three runs in the bottom of the fifth to stay within striking distance, but relief pitcher Connor Stafford struggled to find his rhythm after Grainger pulled Celaya in the sixth inning. Stafford gave up four hits and a walk against his first five batters, allowing the Raiders to score three runs. Sophomore David Lehmann entered the game and forced a double play to get Hanover out of the inning.
Hanover scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh with the tying runner, Seigne, at the plate. Seigne struck out swinging, ending Hanover’s comeback chances.
Perkins allowed 10 hits and eight walks in 6 innings of work, recording two strikeouts. Caleb Broughton was hit by three pitches and walked twice, scoring three runs. Perkins helped himself with four hits, three runs and two RBIs.
McNulty led the way for the Marauders with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Ashey said he isn’t worried about his team’s place in the standings. His Raiders have gone through the meat grinder of New Hampshire Division II these last few weeks, including a 9-7 loss to John Stark (10-3) and a 7-0 shutout loss to Goffstown (13-3). Victories late in the season will help Lebanon make up some ground.
More importantly, his team is saving its best play for last.
“This was a must-win for us to stay alive,” Ashey said. “I don’t know if this gets us in, but it certainly helps toward it.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or at 603-727-3306.