Manchester
To claim its organization’s first such championship, Post 22 would have to beat Exeter Post 32 at 4 p.m. today, then win another game immediately afterward against Jutras Post 43. That would earn Lebanon the right to return Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest against powerful Dover Post 8 and if it prevailed, yet another game against Dover would loom a half-hour later.
Dover has won its first three tournament games by a combined 28-2 and gets today off in the double-elimination format. Post 8 beat Lebanon in the teams’ opening tournament game, 10-0, and features three standout lefthanded pitchers.
“We’re down to the final four teams, and we want to take it one step at a time and get to the final three and then the final two,” said first-year Post 22 coach Travis Pelletier. “At that point, anything can happen. As long as you’re still playing, you still have a chance.”
While the challenge is clearly monumental, Post 22 needs look no further than last week’s senior tournament, won by Rochester Post 7 under identical circumstances for its second consecutive Granite State crown.
“We’re always looking for little things on which I can get better and they can get better,” Pelletier said. “Today, we got their starting pitcher up to 60 pitches through two innings and then we only saw 10 pitches in the third and 12 in the fourth.
“At this point of the season, our fundamentals are pretty much there. We’re just looking for stuff that can carry us through another game.”
Pelletier knew Milford had blown a large lead during its Saturday loss, so he actually hoped Lebanon (15-3) would wind up the visitors, as was decided during a pregame coin flip won by Post 23.
“Knowing that they came off a tough loss yesterday, you want to get a lead as quickly as possible,” Pelletier said. “Playing with one means you can kind of dictate what you do offensively. We had a little bit of letdown in the middle, but then we had another big inning late that was huge.”
The game began with Cedric Elkouh drilling a double, Kyle Hammond moving him along with a sacrifice bunt and pitcher Eli Jaynes helping his own cause with a run-scoring, one-out single. Andrew Hadlock walked and Derek Griffin doubled him home. Griffin took third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch to give his team a 3-0 lead.
Elkouh also led off the second frame and this time reached second base after an infield throwing error. A two-out Hadlock single plated him for a 4-0 lead, although Milford parlayed a single, a double and a fielding error into two runs during its half of the inning.
Other than that, however, Jaynes quietly took care of business. The Kimball Union Academy student allowed eight hits and three runs, two of them earned, during 6 innings of work. He struck out two batters and walked none, although he hit one opponent with a pitch.
“Eli has been so consistent for us on the mound,” Pelletier said. “He’s not going to show that he’s overly excited or that he’s (ticked) off. He goes out there with the same demeanor each time and knows he has a good defense behind him, so he peppers the strike zone.
“When you do that, the defense is in it from the get-go. You’re not standing around watching walk after walk, and you’re sharper.”
Post 22 broke the game open during the sixth inning, when it sent 11 batters to the plate. Hunter Boutin and Charlie Goodrich drew one-out walks and moved up on a wild pitch and a stolen base, respectively. Elkouh singled them home, stole second and crossed the plate courtesy of a Jaynes single.
Hadlock doubled, Griffin and Seanon May singled and Lebanon was up, 10-2. Milford (12-7) closed the scoring with a run in the bottom half of the sixth.
“We played pretty bad in our first loss but our team’s deep and we’ve hit so well that we’re on a good run,” said Hadlock, a Plainfield resident who produced a walk, a single and two doubles and continued his growth behind the plate, where he hadn’t consistently played since seventh grade until this summer. “We’ve got a team with guys from a bunch of different towns but we get along well and we’re playing great, too.”
Said Pelletier: “Andrew’s in the cleanup spot for a reason and he’s quicker than he looks, which you saw when he stole a base today. He knows what pitches he’s looking for and he goes the other way with them as well as anyone in the league.”
Can Post 22 go all the way? Stay tuned.
Notes: Exeter is 14-3, Jutras is 13-6 and Dover is 15-2. … A pair of stadium workers with an epoxy gun twice labored to get a seam in the artificial turf near second base to stay attached to the cement underneath it. … Speaking of the turf, it’s caused at least two Lebanon players scrapes severe enough that they had to be covered with wrap so the umpires would allow them to continue to compete. … The Beatles’ Ticket To Ride was played over the stadium speakers during warmups. It was released in 1965, roughly 35 years before the players on the field were born. … Pelletier said perusal of the team rosters showed him Milford had the youngest squad and Lebanon the second-youngest of the eight teams involved. … The tournament’s winner advances to New England regional play at Rockland (Mass.) Veterans Memorial Stadium from Aug. 5-7. Rockland is adjacent to Brockton in the South Shore region.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.