It’s state tournament time for a pair of area American Legion baseball teams, with double-elimination action kicking off today at Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H., and continuing there and in Rutland on Saturday.
The Lebanon Post 22 senior American Legion squad begins the action when it faces Rochester at noon today in Nashua. Lebanon finished second in the New Hampshire District A regular-season standings and therefore draws Post 7, which is the third-place finisher in District B at 10-4.
A victory over Rochester would send Lebanon to a 7 p.m. game on Saturday. It would face the winner of tonight’s 7 p.m. game between District A champion Milford Post 23 (14-2) and Merrimack Post 98 (8-6), the District B fourth-place finisher. A second consecutive triumph and Post 22 would be off until 7 p.m. Sunday.
Dover Post 8 and Exeter Post 32 are longtime nemeses of Lebanon at tournament time, and those District B squads each had 12-2 records during the regular season.
Lebanon will be powered by a starting pitching tandem of Andrew Houde and Chase Hussey, each of whom has returned from their freshman years of college to play this summer. Houde, a Newport High graduate who attended Keene State, has been strong of late, while Hussey, a Stevens High graduate who attends UMass-Dartmouth, has been more steady over the course of the condensed season.
Caleb Broughton, a rising senior at Lebanon High, is drawing increased NCAA Division I recruiting attention and thriving under it. Diminutive but still growing, the speedy shortstop and three-year NHIAA D-II first-team all-stater anchors the lineup from atop its batting order and has shown more batting power of late. Outfielders Will Smith (Hanover) and Kyle Hammond (Kimball Union Academy) are other steady performers for Lebanon, which has yet to win a state title since the program’s founding during the 1990s.
Across the state line in White River Junction, Post 84’s senior team hopes to capture such a crown in its first season under that sponsor. Last season, when playing without an affiliate post, the team reached the Vermont state title game. The return of every significant player plus the addition of several other competitors has longtime coach Jarrod Grassi optimistic but cautious over a lineup that’s batted injuries this summer.
“We’re as healthy as we’ve been all season, but we also haven’t had our projected starting lineup together for more than a game or two,” said Grassi, whose Southern Division champions open tournament play at 11 a.m. Saturday on St. Peter’s Field in Rutland.
Post 84’s opponent in that game, the Northern Division’s fourth-place finisher, was to be determined Thursday night. Northern Division teams have scrambled to fit in a complete regular season because of numerous rainouts, a situation that could give White River Junction a possible advantage in terms of better-rested pitching.
The staff includes Hartford High hurlers Jacob Perkins, Wyatt Connor, Codi Smith, Hunter Perkins, Dylan Spencer and Jordy Allard. Steve Cerrone, back from New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter Academy, has been solid on the mound after recovering from mononucleosis, and Windsor’s Seth Balch and Hanover’s Moises Celaya also take turns on the hill.
Rivendell’s Dash Fukushima is another option but has been limited after a heavy high school workload. Oxbow’s Eddie White was anticipated to pitch and play in the infield, but is leaving for a Florida vacation that coincides with tournament play.
“That kid is tough as nails,” Grassi said of a player who has held a fulltime logging job this summer. “Losing him hurts, because he’ll take a ground ball off the face if need be, and he’s a tough out who sees a lot of pitches. When he gets on base, he can really move.”
Grassi’s job is to ascertain how best to shift his lineup when a new pitcher takes the mound. Jacob Perkins can play almost any position, Smith is a stellar center fielder and Allard is the starting shortstop when not toeing the rubber. White River Junction entered Thursday night’s regular-season finale with Lakes Region on a 12-game winning streak that had pushed its overall record to 17-5 and its Vermont mark to 15-2.
Creating concern in the Post 84 dugout, however, is the health of Jacob Perkins’ knee, on which he had surgery last fall after a football injury. Grassi said the Lyndon State commit tweaked it again earlier this month and has been trying to fully recover ever since.
Other ailments during the season have afflicted Hunter Perkins’ throwing arm, catcher Tyler Hamilton’s back and one of Spencer’s legs. Connor is also constantly stretching and bending on the mound to keep an old back injury at bay.
The Legion season “is a grind, but unlike high school, you can bounce back from a bad game in the playoffs,” said Grassi, referring to the tournament’s double-elimination format.
The area’s other state tournament participant, the Post 22 junior team, plays next weekend at Manchester’s Gill Stadium.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.