LEBANON — The Hanover High baseball team made the most of a little bit to get its first win of the season — and against its archrival to boot.
Jack Loftus had two hits, each of which had a role in his team’s runs, as the Marauders edged Lebanon, 2-1, at Lebanon High School on Monday. Loftus’ first-inning single eventually led to a game-opening run from Joey Perras, and his fifth-inning single eventually resulted the junior catcher scoring the game-winning run.
“A 2-1 ballgame in April in the rivalry that this one is, it was pretty well-played on both sides,” Lebanon coach Doug Ashey said. “Gotta give them credit; they came to our place and beat us. And we’d been playing well.”
Perras opened the top of the first with a single, moving to third on Loftus’ single and scoring on a wild pitch. Hanover (1-2) upped the lead to 2-0 in the fifth with a Loftus single and an infield hit-and-run that moved Loftus to third base before Nolan Gantrish brought him home with an RBI sacrifice fly to shallow center field.
Gantrish earned the complete-game win on the mound for the Marauders, scattering four hits with six strikeouts and no walks. The Raiders nicked him for a run in the home fifth, when Trey Chickering delivered Jorgen Leuthauser with a run-scoring single.
Gantrish kept Lebanon from scoring the rest of the way, returing the Raiders in order over the final two frames.
“We didn’t make a single error; that had been killing us previously,” Hanover coach John Grainger said. “Nolan pitched a great game. We still didn’t hit, but we made some good defensive plays in the infield that kept us in it. That shows how playing good defense wins games.”
Kyle Pelletier took the hard-luck loss for Lebanon. The senior also tossed a complete game, giving up just five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Hanover hosts Kearsarge and Lebanon travels to Stevens. The Marauders and Raiders will hold a rematch on May 20 at the Dresden Athletic Fields in Norwich.