Norwich
Down 5-4, Hanover knotted the game in the seventh to force extra innings and won the game in the ninth when Perras’ sacrifice fly scored Nolan Gantrish.
Celaya, the Marauders’ ace, had a workmanlike performance six days after hurling 121 pitches in a win over Milford.
The senior was cruising early, giving up only one run through five innings on 61 pitches. Fifth-seeded Hanover was ahead, 4-1, when things began to unravel in the sixth inning. No. 12 Souhegan led off with a walk, followed by three hits en route to four runs. Hanover coach John Grainger called for a conference at the mound in the midst of the Sabers’ rally, but said he never really considered lifting his pitcher.
“I’d rather have a tired, sweaty Moises then anybody else,” Grainger said. “He just gets out there and competes. His pitch count wasn’t that high at that point, so I literally went out there to give him a break.”
Celaya — who contributed two hits, an RBI and a walk at the plate — knew he wouldn’t be asked to relinquish the rock.
“They were just saying keep going until you reach the (pitch) limit,” Celaya said. “That’s what I’ve been doing this whole year, just going until I reach the pitch limit. … I knew that when they were getting the runs, that we could earn them back. That’s what we’ve been doing all season is fighting back no matter what.”
The NHIAA limit is 120 pitches per game, but a pitcher can begin (and finish) an at-bat if it’s on his 120th pitch or less. After that, he must take three days off.
Hanover (12-5), which will travel to No. 4 John Stark for Saturday’s quarterfinal game, got off to a quick start with two runs in the first frame.
Charlie Goodrich bunted himself aboard with two outs and Kegan Silovich followed with a single as did Marcus Hampers, who drove in Goodrich with a ball hit past the diving second baseman, Matt Zifchak. Souhegan (7-10) then overthrew home plate, allowing Silovich to score, making it 2-0.
Hanover added a run in the third after Braxton McNulty led off with a double to right field. It looked like a routine catch for Souhegan’s Nick Wilson, who seemed to lose the ball in the sun and was unable to make a play on it. McNulty then stole third before Jack Loftus bunted him home while safely reaching base himself.
The rally ended there, but the Marauders tacked on one more in the fifth when Celaya welcomed relief pitcher Liam McGrath with a single to right that drove in Silovich, who reached on an error.
The tables turned during the sixth inning, when Hanover abruptly surrendered the lead. After the hosts were unable to score on their next at bat, the pressure was transferred to the home half of the seventh. The Marauders were composed with their backs against the wall, sending seven men to the plate and achieving the bare minimum — one run — needed to send the game into extra innings.
Hampers (three hits) led off with a single, stole second, took third on a pass ball and scored on Celaya’s bouncer to first base. Souhegan first baseman Daniel Trzepacz opted to throw home where Hampers was called safe, which allowed Celaya to reach first safely. The inning ended when Perras lined out to center with the bases loaded.
Perras got his chance at redemption in the ninth inning with two on and one out and the third basemen took full advantage, plating Gantrish (walk) on a sacrifice fly to right field.
“That situation, we could have done another safety squeeze,” Grainger said. “He’s a good bunter, but I wanted to give him a chance and he delivered.”
Souhegan coach Bill Dod retired following Thursday’s game after 50 years of coaching baseball in New Hampshire. He coached at Bishop Guertin, Sanborn and Milford before finishing his career with a 26-year stint at Souhegan. Dod finishes with 549 career victories and a trove of memories and connections.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people that have played for me in the last few months and the last week,” Dod said. “And 10 or 12 letters yesterday and another five or six today before the game and my phone is buzzing, so I’m getting texts from a lot of people now.”
Although he’ll still attend baseball games as a spectator, leaving the diamond behind from a coaching perspective won’t be easy.
“I miss it right now because I don’t have practice tomorrow,” Dod said.
Notes: Celaya hit two batters in the first inning, but got himself out of the jam with a nice pickoff move to second. … Loftus had a nice game behind the plate throwing out a runner leading off first and another trying to steal second. … David Lehmann pitched a scoreless ninth inning in relief of Celaya. … Souhegan got 4⅔ innings out of starter Adam Levesque, who was followed by McGrath (⅔ inning), then Jacob Grassett. … Perras is Hanover’s projected starter for Saturday’s game at John Stark.