WEARE, N.H. — Spectators at the Lebanon High vs. John Stark NHIAA Division II quarterfinal baseball playoff game on Saturday contended with a healthy and hungry crop of ticks in the grass and weeds surrounding J. Paul Pelletier Field. On the diamond itself, the host Generals sucked the postseason life out of their opponents, a six-run third inning propelling them to an 11-2 victory.
Eleventh-seeded Lebanon, which handed third-seeded John Stark one of its only two defeats during the regular season, couldn’t hold a 2-1 lead after two innings. The Raiders (10-8) committed six errors, upon which the Generals (16-2) repeatedly capitalized.
“We can’t give away outs to a solid team like that,” said Lebanon coach Doug Ashey, who watched his team commit three defensive gaffes, two of them on one play, during that turning-point third frame.
“When you give a team like that extra life, it doesn’t usually work out well for you. We played solid defense the first game against these guys, but we got exposed there today.”
Lebanon played without Jon Willeman, a junior and three-sport standout who missed the game for a family wedding. He was replaced by usual third baseman Kobe Benoit, with Pelletier stepping in to handle the hot corner.
Generals pitcher Nathan Isabelle was outstanding, throwing a five-hitter with seven strikeouts, no walks and one hit batter. Mixing a humming fastball with leg-wobbling off-speed pitches, the righthander allowed one earned run while going up against Lebanon’s No. 2 starter, Trey Chickering. Raider ace Kyle Pelletier pitched during the Raiders’ 1-0, extra-innings upset of sixth-seeded Plymouth in the first round.
“I thought we were going to get to (Isabelle) more than the one inning we did,” Ashey said. “We were getting some good swings on him early. But then he seemed to settle in, and we couldn’t solve him.”
Said Lebanon’s Joey Dupree: “He had two good pitches, including a curve that didn’t move much but was hard to pick up.”
A sophomore, Chickering lasted 2⅔ innings, allowing seven runs, six of them earned. He struck out four Generals, including the side in the second inning, while walking four and allowing five hits. The righthander surrendered a three-run home run to Jake Cole during the third inning that came on the heels of the visitors botching what looked like it might be a double play.
Chickering was relieved by freshman lefthander Braeden Falzarano, who allowed five hits and four runs, three of them unearned, during 3⅓ innings of work.
Lebanon received two hits from Dupree and singles from Jorgen Leuthauser, Falzarano and Calvin Bates. Leftfielder Cooper Bourne made an astounding catch during the sixth inning, snagging what would have been an Aaron Robertson home run before crashing into and collapsing the plastic mesh fence.
John Stark advanced to face Hollis-Brookline (16-2), with which it finished tied for second place in the regular-season standings. The teams haven’t played this season, and the winner will face either top-seeded Bow (17-2) or fourth-seeded St. Thomas (14-4) in the finals.
“We won three games a year ago, and this season we won 10 and got to the second round of the playoffs,” Ashey said. “As much as this hurts, and I can’t pretend that we looked good today, this was still a successful season with only two seniors.
“We’ve got some good, young kids back and we’re certainly optimistic going into next year.”
Notes: Ashey inserted pinch runners Zach Howland and Josh Roebuck for seniors Dupree and Pelletier during the seventh inning, allowing the Raiders’ only two seniors to exit to applause. … Dupree said he plans to attend the University of New Hampshire and hopes to play for that school’s club ice hockey team. … Further fueling Ashey’s hope for the future is the fact that the Lebanon Middle School’s top baseball team is undefeated this spring. … John Stark’s field is named for John Paul Pelletier, a former school custodian who moved to Weare in 1989 and helped coach the Generals baseball team. Pelletier died in 2007 at age 75.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.