Manchester
“Obviously, when you lose a game at this stage, the emotions are tough,” said first-year Post 22 coach Travis Pelletier, whose team finished 15-4. “You never want to go out but we showed a lot of grit and fight.”
Lebanon trailed, 1-0, after half an inning, but its leadoff man, Cedric Elkouh, tied the game with one swing in the bottom half of the frame. The Enfield resident’s solo home run sailed just inside the foul pole, 312 feet from home plate at Gill Stadium. In what came to seem like a possible omen, however, Lebanon grounded into a double play a minute or so later.
“Their pitcher settled in after that and he had some big, shutdown innings,” Pelletier said. “The next thing you know, it was 5-1, 6-1, 7-1.”
Exeter pitcher Michael Davey was hit hard during the first inning, but retired the next 14 batters in a row. Six of them grounded to third and another to the shortstop.
“Our guys are young and they have to learn that they’re good enough hitters that they don’t have to pull everything,” Pelletier said. “Just shoot the gap between first and second that they were giving us all day.”
Davey was accurate enough that Post 22 found it hard to drive up his pitch count simply by laying off his tosses. The right-hander averaged fewer than 10 pitches per inning until the sixth, when he allowed Lebanon four hits and three tallies.
Post 22 started Trey Parker on the mound and the righthander lasted 6 innings while surrendering five hits and seven runs, six of them earned. He struck out two batters and walked five.
Exeter used consecutive singles and a stolen base to create its first-inning run. Post 32 parlayed a walk, an errant pickoff attempt, another swiped sack and a fielding error to make the score 2-1 during the second frame. Exeter scored twice more during the fifth, thanks to two walks, another wild pickoff throw, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly.
The score swelled to 7-1 during the sixth. Parker allowed a single and a walk before retiring a batter. He then issued another free pass and another single. His defense was less than stellar, making several mental mistakes. Mix in two wild pitches and a pitching change to Emrys Elkouh, and it was a stretch to forget for the boys in red.
“I probably stayed with Trey a little too long,” Pelletier said. “He’s a competitive kid, but I should have gone to the bullpen sooner.”
Lebanon rallied for three runs during its half of the sixth. Kyle Hammond and Eli Jaynes singled with two outs and Andrew Hadlock and Derek Griffin followed with doubles. The inning ended, however, when Griffin tried to stretch his two-bagger into a triple. He and Pelletier, coaching third, failed to capably communicate and the play was decided by 10 feet.
“This tournament is grueling and baseball is such a mental game,” said Pelletier, whose squad went down in order during the seventh. “Going into the fourth day, it starts to affect guys and they’re not as sharp in their decisions and execution.”
Despite the disappointing ending, Pelletier said he was thrilled with how a team featuring players from six different schools came together and made a playoff run in roughly 45 days.
“They were eager to be at the field every day and if they’re willing to give that effort, you have to be willing to match it,” the coach said. “I played in this program, but this summer gave me a different perspective on why it’s good for kids. They make lifelong friends and you’ve got guys from Woodsville to Canaan talking and texting about baseball even when they’re not playing it.”
Notes: Gill Stadium’s universally-loathed artificial mound came into play when a Parker pitch was lined back at him and off the pronounced lip on the plastic hump front. Parker executed what looked like a hockey goalie’s kick save, but the ball deflected up and away to second baseman Hammond, who successfully threw to first. … Post 22 catcher Hadlock, who played despite a sore throwing arm, is headed to Kimball Union Academy for the upcoming school year. He attended Lebanon High as a freshman. … Coach Pelletier’s younger brother, Kyle, got into his first inning of tournament action when he played first base during the seventh. … Jutras Post 43 defeated Exeter in the game following Lebanon’s ouster. That result eliminated Post 32 and means Jutras must beat Dover Post 8, which had Monday off, twice today to win the state title.