2013 Season

John,

I agree with you, Morais was a star last night.  I saw this stat...23 batters, 17 1st pitch strikes.  His breaking ball was his most effective pitch.  It kept Merrimack off balance. He threw it for a strike when he wanted to, and buried it when the count called for it.  One base-on-balls, one hit, 10 K's.  The strike-out # isn't the highest total I've seen this season, but Morais was dominant.  As dominant as anyone I have seen this year. He faced two batters over the minimum. Only one batter reached 2nd after a stolen base, and he had reached 1st on a strike out/wild pitch.

Defense, Defense, Defense.  3 unearned runs again cost McCormick, who has pitched very well this season.  He throws strikes, mixes it up, and has deserved better in a few of his appearances, namely Concord, where he pitched 4.1 effective out of the pen but was hurt by errors.  He gets the ground ball when he needs it. Last night was no different as he was aided by 2 Tinker to Evers to Chance  (Black to Glendye to Cushman) double plays, as well as Gasper's "pop and laser" to 2nd on BG's 1st and 3rd.  Thanks for the props, JF.

BG has certainly showed it's promise, and any conversation about the D1 State Championship most definitely will include them. I have seen Morais and Lunn, Ferlan, Willams.  Unquestionably, a very good staff. Someone wrote in an earlier blog....best staff in D1....I'm not sure we can argue about that point. 

. 

Great post Mike.  BG is definitely right there with everyone else.  It seems like this year there are more teams with pitching depth than in previous years.  BG, Trinity, Londonderry, North, Merrimack, Concord, Spaulding and others all have more than one solid starter.  I mentioned earlier that the team that has pitching depth and the ability to hit good pitching will be the favorite.  Maybe not.  The team with pitching depth and the best defense behind them obviously would be just as strong if not stronger.  Of the teams with pitching depth, which of these teams tend to play the best defense?  It seems like most teams are flawed in this area, but is there a team that stands out? 

Today in D1:

Alvirne 4-5 @ Trinity 5-4.  Big game for the Broncos who also have North with (most likely?) McCarthy tomorrow.  After scoring 37 runs in their 1st 5 games, Alvirne has lost 3 of 4 scoring only 8 runs.  Trinity has been a team of streaks...at one point winners of 4 in a row. They followed that by losing 3 in a row.  Been off a week since beating Memorial.  Was that the start of a new streak?  G or Currier on the hill?

Pinkerton 3-7 @ Londonderry 7-3.  Pinkerton better than their record indicates.  Londonderry 29 runs allowed in 10 games is one of the top teams in D1.  A rivalry game and a good one to see.

Keene 4-5 @ Concord 7-2.  Big game for the Keene club, who are on a three game winning streak.  They finish the season with six home contest but two long trips to Winny and Timberlane, also remain.  Concord has been one of the most consistent teams in D1. 

Spaulding 7-2 @ Dover 3-6.  Who's on the hill for the Green Wave? Lupi? I still believe he can beat anyone. Have not seen Spaulding, yet, but their string of victories has been impressive, even if they have had five 1-run victories.  They have some meat on their remaining schedule.

Winny 3-5 @ Exeter 5-4.  In their five victories, Exeter has given up TWO runs.  It wouldn't surprise me if they finish-up with a dozen wins.  Winny looked listless in their loss @ Merrimack, but came back to beat Bedford. The next 4 games are important for Winny..... @ Exeter, Dover, Trinity and home v. Concord. Today, has the makings of an interesting contest.

Timberlane 3-7 @ Salem 4-6.  Have not seen Salem, yet.  They have scored 33 runs in their 4 wins and given up 13.  In their six loses they have been outscored by only 16.  After today @ Londonderry, @ Merrimack, and Concord @ home next week.  Timberlane, who has lost 3 games by a single run, start an important stretch today with 3 of 4 away from home.  @ Salem, @BG, Concord, and @Exeter.

Memorial 2-6 @ Central 1-8.  A match-up in the city.  I have seen Memorial twice. They appear to be better than their record indicates.  Haven't seen Central.

BG 8-3 @ Andover, MA. North, Concord and Spaulding, over 4 days in the middle of May, are dates to circle on your BG baseball calendar. I guess the out-of state games count in the NHIAA standings. BG has already beaten Chelmsford. That's why North is only 7-4; they have 2 losses in MA....Andover and Malden Catholic.

Any info on the Alvirne @ North game tomorrow?  Thanks.

Good luck to all. Have a good baseball day.

Thanks Mike, you too. Great day for games. To answer your question, since this is the first game of the week for Trinity, both G AND Currier are on the hill tonight at 7pm at Derryfield Park, in Manchester. Yeah, they've been a bit streaky and my guess/opinion has been expressed in an earlier post on this thread. Coach changed up the lineup their last game vs. Memorial and moved their cleanup hitter up to the lead-off spot and he responded with 2 triples in the first inning in their 7 run inning, one with the bases loaded. Be interesting to see the lineup tonight and should be a great game!

Thanks for the info, Lefty. 

Mike, With regard to the Dover-Rochester game last Friday, Lupi pitched a 2-hit shutout. Only needed 76 pitches. He had a no-hitter going into the 6th. I'd say he's recovered from his ankle injury. Gagne also pitched well for the Red Raiders. Great game to watch with good defense on both sides. It was over in 1 hr 25 minutes.

More than a few "upsets," yesterday around D1.

(5-7) Timberlane 7 to 5 over (8-5) BG.  Not much I can find about this one except a short piece in the Telegraph.  

Dover a 7-0 shutout of Keene. Maybe not an upset, but just the way the Green Wave handled them. Both teams now 5-6. Keene came in to the game winners of 4 in a row scoring 35 runs during that span.  Dover now winners of 3 straight, all shutouts.  The feeling was that Keen was coming. Maybe it's Dover.

(3-8) Central 6 to 1 over Spaulding (7-4).  After beginning the season with six-straight wins, Red Raiders have dropped two in a row scoring a single run.

I finally saw Exeter play last week and was impressed.  Pretty solid lineup offensively and defensively.  Wasn't sure what to expect after hearing they got thumped by Spaulding 10-0, but no real weaknesses that I could see.  As usual mostly upperclassmen with some experience.  And with Joyce on the mound, as he was vs. Winni, they are tough.  He kept his scoreless streak alive against a pretty lethargic opponent and cruised to an easy win.  And they are winning with other guys taking the hill as well, so a little depth there.  Could be a factor in the postseason.  Hampton used a junior making his first start and he didn't make it through the second inning thanks to typical Winni errors, and then used a sophomore making his second appearance who he kept it even the rest of the way.  I think Joyce gave up 1 hit, no runner past second base, pretty dominant.

I caught the Concord/Winni game yesterday on the seacoast, wanted to see what the Crimson tide looked like this year.  Concord won 9-4 in 9 innings, a total implosion by the warriors in the last frame but a good game to that point.  MacHardy beat Concord last year and it looked like that was going to be the case again this year as he was very efficient (68 pitches, 0 walks) but costly errors led to 3 unearned runs and they were down 4-2 when he was replaced after the 6th.  Liebenow went with soph Welch in relief and he did a nice job until he ran out of gas, but Concord got lucky they didn't lose it in regulation.  Cam Hause hit a two run single in the bottom 7 to tie it vs. Concord ace Partridge(?) who had come in to close the game and got roughed up and almost took the loss.  I thought Concord looked good defensively, outfielders have some great arms, but they struggled at the plate as MacHardy mixed it up well.  

Telegraph wasn't completely correct on losing pitcher, but that's a parent speaking :-)

Offensively BG had too many fly outs - batters trying to crush/lift the offering instead of driving through the pitch.  When they did start hitting better later in the game, they just couldn't string enough together. 

Timby got on the board first with 2 runs in top second, but gave them right back in the bottom of the inning.  I don't remember all the details here... Stayed tied through a fateful fifth...

Williams started for BG went 4 innings plus 3 batters in the 5th which laced some fairly long doubles allowing 2 runs to score.  Ferlan came in relief - gave up another double I think on a changeup plating a run, then got the next player to bounce out to 1st on a nifty play by Lunn, but runner on 2nd kept running from 3rd and the pitchers momentum to bag didn't allow for good throw home for 4th run in the inning and 6-2 lead.  BG got 3 back in the bottom of the inning, but couldn't tie things up again.

After a quick top 6, BG got runners on 1st/2nd with and just 1 out, but an out on an attempted steal of 3rd followed by a hit and an out at the plate snuffed out the chance to tie or go ahead...

Timby scored an unearned insurance run in top 7.  BG got the first batter on in bottom 7, but then a double play and srikeout looking ended the game.

Well, we have 3 teams with 3 losses, 4 teams with 4 losses, and a bunch of very good teams with 5+ losses.  This truly is wide open.  I can't wait to see how this turns out. 

Some thoughts.  

Spaulding seems to be doing what many on this board thought they would.  I still think they have a pretty good team, but if they want to take a run at this, they need to take care of the teams they SHOULD beat. 

Credit to Manchester Central.  The good thing about 16 teams making the playoffs, EVERY team continues to play for something.  Teams like Central and Memorial are still going to show up and play.  Ask Spaulding. 

I'm a bit disappointed in Pinkerton.  I still say their record doesn't tell the story of how good this team is, but they need to start putting up the Ws.  You remember what Parcells said.  "You are what you are." 

Concord has lost three of their last 5 games.

Londonderry has won 7 in a row and Nashua North 6 of 7.

Merrimack seems quiet on this board.  I'm sure they want it that way.  MikeG, tell us about this team.  We know they have a great #1 and a great catcher (don't be modest, be proud).  But try to give us an unbiased view of their chances.

Thanks.

Im far less knowledgeable that Mike, but my opinion mirrors the coaches statement in the UL the othe day. Their strength has been their pitching and Micky behind the plate.  Most knew what they would get from Wojciak, but McCormack, Urquart and Gillis have all pitched very well, perhaps beyond expectations as none had seen any signigicant time, if any at all, at the varsity level.  They have put together a decent defensive team, on par with most Ive seen... the additions of Holt and 3B and Glendye at 2B, along with Valluzzi, Knowles and McFadden in the OF have blended well with returning varisty players Black, Cushman and Gasper. There offense has not been overpowering but have put enough runs together to win most games.

What I would worry about in terms of going deep in the playoffs is:

-the # of pitches on Wojciak's arm, or his tendacy to give up free passes via the BB finally coming back to bite him at a key time

-the continued play - both pitching and defense - of the newer additions to the team, esp. as the playoffs get underway

-offensive production, again, esp. as the game to game level of pitching increases once the playoffs move along

Rogerw,

Quiet is a good thing.  I have learned after many years of playing and coaching, to keep my mouth shut when things are going smoothly.  Too many bumps in the NH roads.

8 games on the schedule in D1, today.  Londonderry, South, and Spaulding are off.

Concord 8-3 @ Timberlane 5-7.  Timberlane winners of 4 of 5 (3 of these on the road)  return home.  Big game as Concord tries to regain the top spot. 

Bedford 6-4 @ Alvirne 5-6.  Big stretch for Bedford begins today (Londonderry 5/10, @Spaulding 5/13).  Alvirne, who should have their #1 on the hill in Brown, have lost 4 of 6.  Top 8 implications. Bedford, who have won 6 of 8 have scored 56 runs over that stretch.  LaLonde and Co. like to swing it.  Alvirne is a hitter's park.  Probably be a 2-1 game.

Winny 3-7 @ Dover 5-6.  Two teams going in opposite directions.  Winn losers of 5 of 6 and Dover winners of 4 of 5.  Green Wave have given up 10 runs over that stretch including 3 straight shutouts.

Trinity 5-6 @ Keene 5-6. Must game for Trinity who have lost 5 of 6.  Keene coming off a 7-0 loss @ Dover after winning 4 straight.  Trinity with Londonderry and North next week, need the win.  Who is on the hill for Trinity?

BG 8-5 @ Central 3-8.  BG is @ Pinkerton on Friday, then has North @ home and a couple of road games, Concord and Spaulding, next week.  Can't look past Central?  Ask Spaulding.  Must likely see Morais on the hill coming off his one-hit gem vs. Merrimack.

Exeter 7-4 @ Memorial 2-8.  Of Exeter's 7 games remaining, four opponents have a combined record of 16-29.  The other 3 have a combined record of 23-10.  Will Exeter win enough to make the top 4? Memorial has lost five straight since beating BG.  

Salem 4-8 @ Merrimack 7-3. Salem, coming off a 7-2 loss @ division leading Londonderry, has lost 4 straight. Merrimack has won 4 of 5. The send out their #2 starter McCormick.  He has pitched very well this year. His record of 1-2 in D1 does not indicate his effectiveness.  I still remember the days of Poore vs. Hudon.

Pinkerton 3-9 @ North 9-4.  Astros have dropped 6 of 7 and have found it difficult to score over that stretch (15 runs).  In five of those seven games only gave up 16 runs. North has won 6 out of 7, their only loss the football score at Londonderry. I'm thinking this will be another close affair.  

Evening weather may make the Keene/Trinity game dicey...  Lots of bright yellow and red on the horizon for the early evening forecast.  If played, what's the O/U on pitches thrown tonight for G?  120?

While called "upsets" w/r/t record comparison - there's quite a bit of parity this year, the NHIAA computers could be working overtime to figure out tiebreakers....  Wouldn't be surprised to see multiple teams tied with 9-9 records.  Getting a top 3 seed still doesn't guarantee anything as you could be facing a #1 from Pink, Winni, Salem, South, etc. that on any given day could win that game.

I take back everything I said last week about Winni.  Just saw possibly the worst baseball game of the season, a lackluster 14-0 Winni loss at Dover in 5 innings.  Was hoping to see Lupi but he was not on the mound.  The Hampton team is in a downward spiral, they may not recover in time to even make the playoffs.  The lack of pitching depth beyond MacHardy is brutally apparent now, the young guys unable to throw strikes.  Pitching to contact isn't working as the defense must lead the league in unearned runs they can't overcome.  The offense is inconsistent at best especially against the highly regarded guys.  Desperate for wins, not sure if they can regroup for Trinity Friday night.  Dover is on a roll, but couldn't get a good read on them as the competition did not challenge.  10 run 4th inning was a combination of walks, wild pitches, 4 errors and a bases clearing double.  Every game is an adventure!

Tomorrow's D1 schedule:

Londonderry 9-3 @ Bedford 7-4.  In arguably the top game of the day, Londonderry 1st in the standings have won 7 in a row and out-scored opponents 68 to 16 over that time.  (OK throw out North and it's 35 runs to 9 in 6 games.) Bedford, who has won 7 out of 9, have been inching their way up the standings. They give up some runs but can score some too. Bedford averages close to 6.0 rpg offensively, and gives up approx 5.5.  With those numbers, it appears that they find a way to win.

Alvirne 5-7 @ Concord 8-3.  With 6 games remaining Alvirne wants to turn it around quickly. Concord has lost 3 out of 5 and has a tough schedule remaining that includes BG, Exeter, Spaulding, and Dover.

Timberlane 5-7 @ Exeter 7-5.  Big game for both clubs. Timmy on a bit of a roll winning 4 of 5.  In their 7 wins Exeter has surrendered 7 runs.  In their 5 losses, 37 runs.  

North 10-4 @ Central 3-9.  North, 10 and 2 in NHIAA games, plays the Little Green who came within a run of two big upsets in a row.  

Dover 6-6 @ Memorial 3-8.  Dover on a roll.  4 straight W's outscored opponents 35 to zip during that stretch. Memorial breaks a string of 5 straight losses dumping Exeter on Wednesday.  

BG 9-5 @ Pinkerton 3-10. After tomorrow, BG has a big week ahead....Monday vs. inner-city rival, North, Wed, @ Concord and Thursday @ Spaulding. 9 of 10 Astro losses by approx. 2 runs per game. Who is hungrier?  

Spaulding 7-4 @ Salem 4-9. After starting the season with 6 straight wins, Spaulding, on a bit of a slide, has lost 4 of 5 and have only scored 7 runs in those 4 losses. Salem also on a bit of a slide, have lost 5 straight. 8 of Salem's 9 losses have been vs. NHIAA teams.  During those losses they have only scored 19 runs.

Winn  3-8 @ Trinity 5-7.  Both teams have lost 3 straight.  Both teams have scored only 4 runs in those loses. Both teams have been shut out twice during that stretch.  Both teams in need of a W.  #1a, Currier, on the mound for the Pioneers.  Runs may be hard to come by in Manchester.

On Saturday

Merrimack 8-3 @ Keene 6-6.  Keene trying to get over .500 for the first time, have scored 51 runs in their 6 wins and only 21 in their 6 losses.  Merrimack has only given-up 25 all year. 

Loves these write ups, thanks Mike!

I'm hoping Mike will do more of his excellent/detailed writeups, but in the mean time - we have 2 weeks left in the season and it's a huge week for many teams with key games all around that will effect seeding of the top 8 teams...

Monday:

Londonderry/Trinity  (Maloney v. G???  up on the hill in the chill - bring blankets)

North/BG

Concord/Exeter

Bedford/Spaulding (3 home games this week!)

Keene/Timberlane

Wed:

Londonderry/Timberlane

BG/Concord

North/Trinity

Merrimack/Spaulding

Bedford/Dover

Thu/Fri (it's prom season)

BG/Spaulding

Bedford/Keene

Yes, bring blankets for tonight's Londonderry game at 7pm vs Trinity.  G is slated tonight (possibly Friday) and Currier Wednesday vs. North.

Nice NH weather.  Big week of baseball in D1.  Everybody goes today except Pinkerton.

Londonderry 10-3 @ Trinity 5-8. Game of the day????? under the lights in Manchester.  You heard from John and Nasty; it will be balmy up on the hill. Lancers have won 8 straight and have their senior right-hander, Maloney.  Trinity have lost 4 straight but have C.G.  Game has the makings of a low-scoring affair.

North 11-4 @ BG 10-5.  Game of the day????? Is it Holman under the lights?   I'm not sure.  BG with 5 games left. @ Concord, @ Spaulding, @ Salem, and home vs. Trinity.  North has won 5 straight.  Should be a good one.

Bedford 7-5 @ Spaulding 8-4. Big week for Spaulding starts here. Merrimack and BG head to Rochester as well.  Under the lights as well????

Concord 8-4 @ Exeter 8-5.  Big game in the standings.  Concord, coming off a 2-1 loss to Alvirne, hosts BG on Wed.  Exeter has a big week as well heads to Salem on Wed. and hosts Londonderry on Friday.

Alvirne 6-7  @ Salem 4-11.  Salem has lost 7 straight, 6 of those NHIAA games where they have scored 10 runs and given up 34. Alvirne who only managed 4-hits on Friday got a strong pitching performance from D. Hudson in the victory over Concord.  Is it T. Brown's turn on the hill?

Memorial 3-9 @ Merrimack 8-4. Merrimack, who needs to bounce back from Saturday's 5-3 rain-shortened, disappointing 5-3 loss at Keene, has some meat on their remaining schedule with Spaulding, North, Londonderry and Alvirne all away from home.

South 4-7 @ Dover 7-6.  Green Wave, winners of 5 straight, host South in the midst of a 5-game road stretch.  Panther's have lost 3 straight.  

Keene 7-6 @ Timberlane 5-8. Owls back at home after splitting four on the road.  They showed life with victories @ Salem and @ BG.  Keene winners of a rain shortened game on Saturday have won 6 of 7.

Central 3-10 @ Winny 4-8. Both ball clubs have played well at times this spring. Both are looking to get in the playoff hunt. Winny coming off a 4-2 win @ Trinity.

Yes, North/BG is a night game in the chilly confines of Holman Stadium.  I'm guessing a McCarthy/Morais matchup based only on the order of the starters both teams have used.

If you're used to baseball in Alaska, yes, tonight will be balmy.  If you're more comfortable with the temps over the last 7-10 days, well tonight you will be reminded why they call it New England baseball weather - don't worry if you don't like it now it will change.

On the seacoast, Exeter recovered from a surprising loss to Central with a win over a good-hitting Timberlane team 5-2, ending Joyce's scoreless streak with 1 ER/1UER. Dover ended it's 4 game shutout streak vs. Memorial, but they keep piling up the wins.  Winni is Jekyl/Hyde with a quality win vs. Trinity Friday.  The Gareau that pitched a gem vs. Spaulding showed up (vs. the one that couldn't find the zone vs. Merrimack)  and Winni took advantage of Currier's lack of command and he got pulled after 3.  Apparently it should have been more lopsided, as Winni left the bases loaded in 4th and 5th without scoring to add to a boatload of men LOB.  Interesting statline: 0 errors for either team, unexpected for the two worst fielding teams in D1.  The Winni schedule is favorable from here on out: MacHardy goes today vs. Central, and they still have games with Memorial, Pinkerton, Keene, Alvirne and end the season with Londonderry.  Certainly a chance to secure a playoff spot and perhaps move up the board a bit.

Great write up once again Mike!  Some great games today but the debate on which one to attend is definitely between BG/North & Londonderry/Trinity.  The top three teams in Div 1 are Londonderry, North & BG.  They are the only teams with double digit wins. So since Londonderry plays a 5-8 team how could I possibly pass up the BG/North game?  Ahh...only if two of the very best pitchers in the state happen to be facing each other, that's how.  In this case, Carmen G. and Ryan Moloney.  This one should be fun.  I know people think it's going to be cold, but you can defintely expect a lot of heat at Trinity tonight!

So do we assume Londonderry and North will be the last two standing in D1 this year?  Does Concord, probably lucky to have its 9 wins at this point, have what it takes to try to repeat?  Can Bedford make it to the top in their first year of promotion from D2?  Is this the year a Merrimack or Spaulding stake a claim with their one ace carrying the load?  Could a seacoast team like Exeter or Dover make a playoff run?  Now that the early season hype has turned into a reality nightmare is Trinity a one and done in the playoffs?  Could a Winn or Timberlane ruin the chances for BG in the first round?  Only a handful of games left, this is getting interesting.  Any thoughts or predictions out there?

Seacoast.  I agree.  I can't wait to see how this unfolds.  A single elimination tournament in baseball is obviously different from any other sport.  The intangible of pitching matchups and the rules that must be followed give baseball coaches so much more to think about than their gridiron & hardcourt counterparts.  So, to me, it's not as simple as picking the teams with the best records. It's about which teams are best built for this tournament.  Who are the teams that have at least two, but ideally three, solid starters that can go out there and give their teams a chance to win every time they take the mound?

OK Seacoast.  Lots of good questions.  I wish I had the answers.  I thought about them last night while watching baseball, here goes.

Good points roger......built for the tournament..... If you are a top 4 seed, do you start your #1 vs. the lower seed's #1? That's the question that I struggle with.  If you have #1 and #1a, the problem is diminished.  There are teams that have that luxury....North, BG Londonderry...to name a few.  In looking at the standings, you see nine teams have 8 or more wins.  Two more with 7 wins.  That's eleven teams with a realistic chance for double digit wins.  Seems like parity. Seems like an interesting playoff scenario. 

Yesterday, Pinkerton 3-11 @ Memorial 3-10.  Pinkerton wins their 4^th game 4 to 3 in 10. Herlihy, Casey, and Donahue appeared to have pitched well for Coach Campo.  They finish with Trinity, Dover, Winny, and South…..

BG 10-6 @ Concord 9-4. BG is an interesting team to study.  They have scored 4.7 RPG while giving-up 4.4. They have been involved in eight games decided by two runs or less winning six of them. That can't be a bad thing coming down the stretch.  Concord, who is 3-4 in their last 7, have been involved in ten games decided by 2 runs or less, winning seven. Concord, who has lost their last three games at home, is scoring 4.7 RPG while the opponents score 3.8 against them.  Important game if you want to evaluate where the dust is going to settle. How's Morais feeling?

Dover 8-6 @ Bedford 8-5. The Green Wave, winners of 6-straight, have surrendered only 5 runs over that span.  For the season they have allowed less than 3 RPG. No wonder they have turned their season around after starting 2-6.  Their offense averages 5.4 RPG. In comparison, Bedford has allowed 5.4 RPG while scoring 5.8. How are they 8-5?  They find a way to win. They have not lost two straight since the opening week. Lupi on the hill for Dover?  Could be a good one.

Merrimack 9-4  @ Spaulding 8-5. Another game with playoff implications. Merrimack finishes their season with possibly the toughest D1 schedule. @ North,@ Londonderry, and @ Alvirne next week. They average 4.6 RPG while giving up 3.0, but have given-up two runs or less in eight of their games.  Since starting the season 6-0, Spaulding has lost 5 of 7.  The offense averages 4.7 while the defense gives-up 3.7.  They have also been involved in eight 1-run games winning eight.  A big contest with BG follows tomorrow.

Exeter  8-6 @ Salem 4-12.  In their 8 wins Exeter has given up 9 runs.  In 7 of those only 4 runs.  In their 6 losses 41.  I wouldn’t want to draw them in the 1^st round.  Salem, losers of eight straight managing only one run on one-hit last time out vs. Alvirne, have scored four runs in their last five. 

Timberlane  6-8 @ Londonderry 11-3.  Owls have won 3 of 4 and 5 of 7. Have outscored Keen, BG, and Salem 32-10 in their last three wins.  Londonderry goes for their tenth straight.  They allow only 2.7 RPG.  Their 3 losses have been one-run contests vs. BG, Concord, and Spaulding.

North 12-4 @ Trinity 5-9. North winners of six straight have scored 48 runs and given-up 9 over that stretch.  Definitely responded to that character building loss to the Lancers.  Trinity, who could be D1’s biggest disappointment, have lost 8 of 9 after a promising start.  Have Currier, who has pitched well, on the bump today.

Winnacunnet 5-8  @ Alvirne  7-7. Winny averages 4.0 RPG while giving up 6.6.   Alvirne scores 5.4 and surrenders only 3.6. 

South 4-8 @ Central 3-11.  South has lost 8 of 10 after starting the season with two straight wins.  They are @Concord tomorrow and host Londonderry on Friday.  In each of their last 5 games Central has scored 6 runs raising their season RPG to 3.9.  In their previous 9 games, they had scored 24. Signs of life? Opponents score 6.8 RPG.

From what I hear, Morais is feeling much better.  Pretty scary stuff the other night... There's an article today in the Telegraph about him - probably written prior to the Mon game though as it's only briefly mentioned.

For me - BG will go as far as their defense allows them, but that's true of most D1 teams. Cannot win with defense having more errors than runs given up.  Pitchers at this point of the season aren't likely to get a 21K effort, so pitch to contact where appropriate and make the "routine" plays.

While a solid #1a and #1b can pretty much run the table in the playoffs - teams had better have a reliable 3rd pitcher.  Tough to pitch 7 twice in playoffs if you make it to the finals.  This is a year I don't think a coach of a higher seed can afford to try and get by with #2.  Hard to play from behind if the lower seed's #1 does his job.  Never want to end the season with your #1 not getting the chance.  Besides the Thu/Sat schedule means if you start #2 and then go to #1, then you better have a #3 that could go Sat unless you're willing to go back to #1 or #2 on very short rest.

From JohnF:

(From what I hear, Morais is feeling much better.  Pretty scary stuff the other night...)

Hey John,  Can you give more details on this?  I must have missed it.  Thanks.

Matt was pitching pretty well (although he defense was making throw a few extra pitches than necessary).  Anyway in the 4th inning he was taken out of the game, see the Telegraph article:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com...n-on-bg-miscues.html

Today's article doesn't provide any more details:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com...s-a-pitcher-and.html

I'm a parent and friend and thus not in a position to provide 'official word', 'diagnosis', etc.  I hope that gives you enough to understand - if it were my son I'd want people to know he's OK, but beyond that I think is something for the family to decide to disclose or not. 

Tonight's North at Trinity game postponed. Rescheduled for 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

19 teams.  16 make playoffs. Who doesn’t make it?   I tried to break it down to figure out which teams have the toughest hill to climb.  As it stands the bottom four teams seem to be fighting for one playoff spot.  

Salem, Pinkerton, Memorial & Central all have 11 or more losses.  I know there are a few other teams that still have a mathematical chance to jump “under” and end up in the bottom three, but at this point, the chances of that happening are about the same as a hockey team scoring two goals with a minute and a half left in an elimination game.  It just doesn’t happen!

So the four teams and their remaining opponents fighting for the last playoff spot are: 

Salem – 5-12 (BG, Central & North) 20 total Games

Pinkerton – 4-11 (Trinity, Dover, Winnacunnet, South) 19 total Games

Memorial – 3-11 (Winnicunnet, Alvirne, South, Spaulding) 18 total Games

Central – 3-12 (Memorial, Salem, Bedford) 18 total Games

Who gets it?  Should be fun.

Also, could someone explain to me if the difference in games played and/or playing out of conference teams comes into play when deciding the playoff seeds.  It seems to me that if Salem ends up with a 6-14 record and Pinkerton ends up with a 6-13 record, Salem is getting penalized for playing more games.  Thanks for the info.

South stayed ahead of the bottom of the pack with a Huge 2-1 Complete game win by Nick Penkala. With Pinkerton and Memorial still ahead they control their own destiny.

BTW: Central plays Merrimack not Memorial - after all Central isn't on your Memorial list!

You want someone to explain the NHIAA tie breaking procedures?  That'd be a great thesis for some sports information doctoral candidate

Placement initially is on the ratings. The out of division I think only comes into play for the initial rankings - after that I believe it's all in division. Salem playing/losing to two MA teams hurts them much the same way it hurts North. BG winning one of those helps marginally.  Keene winning will help them (wins are worth 4 points divided by total # of games played). Londonderry (v. Andover) and Dover (v. Bellows Free Academy, VT) both play out of state this week.

Tied teams from ratings go to a series of crazy tie breakers listed in the policies and procedures manual.  head to head, record amongst 3+ tied teams, record vs. playoff teams, etc. are all part of it. At one time road wins played a factor - not sure if they still do.

Pinkerton has an "interesting" situation where they lost twice to Londonderry so that could end up hurting the...  In the long run, it seems slot #18 is between Pinkerton and Salem although Winni, Trinity, or South could slip there too

Today we get a clash of two teams that are fighting to stay in the top 8 - BG travels to Spaulding - both are on losing streaks.  Spaulding has 3 road games next week and BG only plays 2 more games after today (@Salem & Trinity). It's a 630P start up in the Lilac City - should be interesting...

JohnF writes- (Central plays Merrimack not Memorial - after all Central isn't on your Memorial list!)

Thanks JohnF.  Nice catch.  That might be a very different game for Central.  Especially if they see their ace. 

Thanks for the playoff info.  When's the test?

And down goes Concord. South beats them 4-3 @ Memorial to stay ahead of the bottom pack. Reed (Keene St), Dunn (WPI) and Detrich (SNHU -bases loaded Double) all with two hits. Gouviea (Clark) pitched 6 complete 79 pitches. Uncharacteristic 3-4 errors on the Concord SS didn't help their cause. 

Don't count Trinity out just yet. Solid pitching last night against #1 North and with the team errors starting to become minimal (only one yesterday leading to North's only run), lower pitch counts for the two starters means stronger for the playoffs. Team is starting to hit again (5 runs off Londonderry ace including a HR by the Freshman) and Carmen on the hill today vs Pinkerton. Win today they make the playoffs where it's a whole new season. I think playoffs are about which ace shows up on the hill that day with a team who makes the least amount of errors.

Any idea where I can find the standings day to day updated ?

Nasty Lefty, (Mr. Currier)

Alex pitched a great game!! I would hardly call 101 pitches a low pitch count. Again, he pitched a great game & 101 is not unreasonble for 7 innings but it is not low. I guess for Trinity it may be. If G pitches today & follows suit he could have well over 200 pitches thrown in 5 days!! Lower Pitch counts??