2014 Season New Hampshire Season

I heard recently that the Winni catcher is pretty good. Heard he has a real strong arm. I can't remember his name but heard he's going to Southern Maine in the Fall.

Cameron Hauze is Winni's Catcher. Good arm and solid bat

Someone told me about this blog/forum. This is pretty cool. I can hardly find any info on NH baseball anywhere besides NHIAA. I recognize a lot the names I am reading ( I coach and help out at Show Baseball Academy).
My son John plays for Pinkerton and I also have a nephew Tom Diskin that plays for Pinkerton. I totally agree with a few posts I've read that NH baseball and it's talent is every bit as good as MA or anywhere in New England (sorry, may be a bit biased). I have seen all the Pinkerton games and the talent I have seen is very good. Players like Mikey Gasper (such a great swing- owens is going to love him) Tom Diskin, Nate Rossi, Ivan Clough, Sahlin, Donahue, Gerossie, Angelini, DelSignore, Corey ( and the entire Londonderry team is very good). Too many to list.
Salem, Timberlane, Exeter (have not seen Dover yet) have some very good players. I know Brown, Lupi, Giampetruzzi, Partridge and the boys at BG are talented. Good catchers at Pinkerton, Merrimack, Trinity, londonderry, BG just to name a few. The list could go on and on. You could put together 2 or 3 very solid all star teams that could compete anywhere in the country. I agree with the blogger  who said NH is becoming a hotbed for recruiting. Many college coaches are searching for players in the Northeast, for good reason.
I am looking forward to the playoffs. I think any team on any given matchup can win.

There is a lot of talent in NH and a pretty fair amount in New England in general.  The challenge for many of the kids aspiring to the next level is geting the right type of exposure to get recruited and/or drafted.  My oldest will play his third season of college development travel ball this summer.  The sheer volume of scouts and recruiters at some of the big Mid-Atlantic, southern and mid-western events is truly impressive.  Far bigger than almost anything you might see in the Northeast.  The new Ruffnecks facility in Northboro, MA will help as I'm sure they will run some Perfect Game events.  Hopefully kids from NH as well as New England can continue to get good recruiting looks from schools not only in New England, but other parts of the country too. 

 

Sorry to take the thread a little off topic, I just get excited to see so many quality players talked about around NH and am hopeful they can all go on to continue to play if they want to.

The facilty down there and the Ruffneck program is top notch. They will be working with Show Baseball putting together some great tournaments and  some great games. I have heard some great ideas tossed around that  I hope will be followed thru with. Under Armour is holding its first underclassmen tourney in the area this summer. Should be some great talent for our kids to play against.

Thinking about this "skinny" since Friday. I have not seen everybody, yet. But I do agree, there is a lot of talent in NH and an interesting 2nd half of the baseball season awaits.  Add some pitchers to the list, I have definitely overlooked a few.  I think pitching will have a lot to say about who is playing in June. Pitching and Defense.

1. Dover (8-2) has lost two straight.   At home vs. Keene today should be a good one.  Not positive, but I assume it is Lupi’s turn.
2. Londonderry (8-3) have a fairly favorable schedule left with their NH opponents standing at 29-50.  Pinkerton fans may disagree, but the Lancers are a tough team to beat.  Their pitching is real good with Delsignore and Corey.
3. Pinkerton (8-3) has only given-up 33 runs in 11 games.  That # is pretty good. In their three losses they were out-scored 3-8.   Astros scored 62 runs in their 8 wins.   Hard to say that they will not be there at the end especially after their run last year.  They have the pitching as well, no question. Three very good starters, in Donahue, Gerossie, and Polchetti, make them a load to deal with the rest of the way.
4. Keene (7-3) only average 3.5 RPG but give-up an impressive 2.1 RPG.  Go to a Blackbirds game and you can be home for an early dinner.  6 of their last 8 are on the road beginning with a game to watch closely.  Dover today.  Seem to have a bunch of effective arms in Zecha, Blanchard, Robinson, and Bianco.
5. Spaulding (7-3) winners of 5 straight have only lost to Londonderry, Pinkerton, and Keene by a combined run total of 6-20. At Keene it was Steve Bianco who shut them down on four hits, and at Pinkerton Chriss Gerossie held them to 4 hits  in a 9-2 loss.  They have beaten everyone else by a combined 48-17.  Somewhat favorable schedule remains.
6. Alvirne (6-4) have outscored their opponents in their victories 35-9.   Another team with a lot of arms in Brown, Hudson, and Flohr. A Bedford team who have won 4-straight and Concord are on tap later in the week.
7. BG (6-4) has looked dominant in its six wins outscoring its opponents 40-11 that includes a 14-1 victory vs. Londonderry. Their 4 losses have been low-scoring, competitive affairs (scoring 5 runs while giving-up 13) This week has them on the road at Timberlane and home against Central, and Pinkerton. Willams, Ferlan, Dipasquale , and Burbank give them more than enough.
8. Salem (6-4) is going in the right direction. They have won 6 0f 8 since opening the season with 2 losses.  During that time they have won at Pinkerton and at Dover.  Six road games await: Londonderry, Spaulding, Alvirne, Exeter, Concord, and BG. 
9. Concord (6-5) has pretty much been on a win one, lose one roll.  No winning or losing streaks. If that continues, they will inish a respectable 10-8 on the season. In their wins they have scored an average of 8 per game.  In their losses, 2.5 PPG.  Partridge is a good #1.

10. Timberlane (6-6) have lost four straight after their great start.  They don’t score a ton of  runs ( 3.7 RPG) and 9 of their games have been decided by 3 runs or less.  Fay is a capable left-hander.  Haven't heard how Damphouse did on his return. BG, Concord, Exeter Londonderry, Keene, and Trinity are left.

 

11.  Bedford (5-5) has won 4 straight, outscoring those opponents 27-6.  The wood remains.  Their next 6 opponents have a combined record of 44-18.

 

12.  Exeter (4-5) the defending champs have given up 7 runs in their four wins.  They hit the ball well, the time that I saw them.   They have a somewhat favorable schedule this week with opponents who are combined 11-21.  Mundy gives them an experienced arm. Did they play the Winny game scheduled for the 10^th?

 

13.  North (4-7) in their 4 NH wins they have outscored their opponents 40-6.  In their 6 NH losses they have been outscored 7-32.  Busy week ahead with 3 NH games and one MA. Smith has pitched well from what I have read.

 

14. Central (3-6) appears to have had strong pitching 5 times this season.   Going 3-2 in those games, they outscored their opponents 10-8 in those contests.  Duffley has pitched well from what I hear..

 

15. Memorial  (3-6) has won 3 out of 4 and has averaged close to 8 RPG this season.  I seem to remember that they hit last season, too.

 

16. Trinity (3-6) is a tough team to figure.  Two of their losses (@ Concord and @ Alvirne) were each by a run.  So with a break or two they could be 5-4.  Nice wins of late over Bedford and Salem.  G will compete on the hill.

 

17.  Merrimack (2-7) has had a disappointing season so far.  A couple of close losses to start the season, have led to a few blowouts of late.   Even their victories have been one-sided (they outscored their opponents, 16-2).  Some recent problems on the hill bring new challenges to the club.

 

18. South (2-9) coming off a great 3-2 win vs. Bishop Guertin, look to keep it going against Exeter, today.  Of the Panthers remaining seven games, 4 of NH’s top 5 in the standings are featured.

 

19. Winnacunnet (1-8) still needs to play the top four, Dover, Londonderry, Pinkerton, and Keene.  Add in #7 Alvirne, and their schedule is a tough one.  Not sure what happened with their game scheduled for the 10^th vs. Exeter.

 

 

 

 

Nice work Mike!! I've been waiting for a good breakdown like that.

 

Good stuff Mike - nice win yesterday for Merrimack too!!

 

A bit off topic, but along the lines of good NH players and playing at the next level - SNHU is hosting the D2 regional playoffs again this year.  Game times are 11, 3, & 7 on Thu, Fri, & Sat with a championship at Noon on Sunday. There are a number of NH names on the SNHU (#1 seed) and FPU (#2 seed) rosters.  At the very least it'll show those that are interested in playing at the next level the type of player(s) that these local schools strive to recruit each year in order to keep them at the top. Winner of the regional moves on to the D2 world series - so it's pretty serious baseball.

Mike - I believe the Winny-Exeter game ppd from 5/10 is scheduled for this afternoon (5/13).

the schedules are getting shuffled.  Latest is Winni vs. Exeter moved to Friday, Winni vs. Trinity got moved to Thursday and Winni has Dover tomorrow.  Need to take 2 of 3 to stay in the hunt for postseason.

3 games won by  a 1-0 score. Sounds like some great pitching yesterday. Any details?

Alvirne's Tyler Brown goes 7, gives-up just 1 hit, 3 base on Balls and records 6 k's.  Throws 98 pitches in the 1-0 victory.

 

Bedfords's Lang throws a not too shabby 7 innings, giving-up 5 hits, 4 base on balls wile recording 4 strikeouts.  Threw 103 offerings. 

 

Nick Angelini's two-out double was Bedford's only hit. 

Thanks Mike,
That's what I was looking for since we play Alvirne tomorrow.

Saw Dover play this week, interested to see what they are all about.  I thought they were a little shaky, not as wowed as I assumed I would be given their record and list of impressive wins, but then again Lupe wasn't on the mound and they might have been taking their opponent lightly (Winni).  A 4-3 game after 5 turned into a lopsided win for Green Wave, but that was due to typical Winni baseball not Dover might. 

 

I was hoping to see a Giampetruzzi vs. MacHardy matchup of power lefties yesterday in Hampton, but it was G's day off and it was not much of a game.  MacHardy tossed the complete game 5 hit shutout with 11 K's, 0 walks on 88 pitches.  Warriors are trying to claw back into the playoff picture after horrific start, but the loss to Merrimack last week when MacHardy got pulled after 1.3 with arm soreness is probably going to haunt them.  Need to win at least 2 games this week with Exeter, Central, Alvirne and Memorial on tap.  Looking forward to seeing the defending champs Sunday as they are having an up and down season so far.

Winni 1 - Exeter 0.  Not sure anyone saw that coming especially with Mundy on the mound.  Danny Fields, a small sophomore lefty making his 3rd start was solid for the Warriors with a complete game.  Exeter's Mezquita missed a grand slam foul by 20 feet in top 6 that would have been a dagger.  Winni manufactured the winning run with 2 outs in the bottom 6th when Hauze knocked in MacHardy after a single and stolen base.  Clean game, good pitching duel, but 2 shutouts in a row gives Winni a little momentum for the stretch in search of a playoff spot.

Seacoast,

Sounds like a great pitchers duel, that's like the fourth one this week in D1. I just looked at Winni's schedule. They still have Alvirne, Keene, Pinkerton & Londonderry to go. They will need to have momentum for that stretch of games

And down the stretch they come...  The next 10 days should be verrryyy interesting as teams jockey for "playoff position" especially with so many games where currently closely "seeded" teams are playing each other... Could see teams try to play through rain more so than they normally would to avoid even more pitching woes. Will coaches stay on their current rotations and just let the chips fall where they may? Or will they juggle their pitchers to try and get a 'favorable' matchup (if there is such a thing this year)?

 

The rain on Friday seems to have resulted in a hit-or-miss with regard to playing. Missing results from NHIAA makes one wonder did Alvirne & Concord play?  Salem & Belmont, MA?, Bedford & Londonderry?.  I saw in the Telegraph that North beat Central in a 1-run extra inning game.

 

This week:

Spaulding has 3 long trips this week - Bedford, Merrimack, & BG.

Salem is on the road 3 times too (Alvirne, Concord, & Exeter) with 1 home (Andover)

Central & Bedford are either going to prove they belong in the mix of the top 10-12 teams or they fall into the bottom 4-6 teams.

 

It seems the current top 3 would be primed to stay where they are - the next jumble of teams could see either separation or further taxing of the brains of those that like to figure out where teams will be seeded based on NHIAA policies (good luck with that!)

Going to be a crazy week for sure everywhere.  My boys' D3 team plays Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and also Sunday at Fisher Cat stadium.  Older boy (9) pitches today and Sunday, younger one (7) will go on Friday plus when needed in relief.  Should be an interesting week.

 

Good luck to all down the stretch.

Interesting D2 matchup on Wednesday as first place Goffstown takes on second place Hollis Brookline.  Plymouth stumbled today losing to D3 team Laconia.  Goffstown has rolled after their opening game loss to Windham and hasn't looked back winning 12 in a row.  HB has played a pretty soft schedule thus far and will be tested playing 4 of the top 8 teams in D2 in their final 5 games. 

Steve,

 

Am I correct, that Cam will be on the hill for H/B?   Should be a great match-up.

I don't see a score for the Memorial vs. Merrimack game at Gill yesterday.  Did they get it in?

Mike, yes Cam should be on the hill tomorrow.  He's got beat by Tyler Barrs last year and hasn't had the best luck against Goffstown through the years.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.  I'm guessing Putman or Perron will be facing HB.  Should be a good one.

Memorial beat Merrimack the other night 7-4

Looks like H/B and their Ace Cam LeFleur has stopped Goffstown 2-0.   Must have been a good one.  Congrats, Steve.

Thanks Mike.  Cam threw well, probably better than he did when he no hit ConVal a couple weeks ago as this time around he had no walks to go along with 16 Ks against a really good Goffstown team.  

 

Putman looked really good too actually.  HB strung together a few hits against him in the 4th inning and scored their two runs but otherwise they couldn't do anything against him.

 

Two more games for HB this week.  Hoping the weather holds up.

Steve,

 

A gem!   16 Ks.  A great season for Cam.  Keep it going.  Maintain that hold on the two-seed.

So the scramble for the last couple of spots begins in D1 today. It will be interesting to see how teams decide who pitches against who. Trinity & Winni pretty much have to win out. Winni has Keene, Pinkerton (most likely Gerossie) & Londonderry (most likely Corey) Good luck with that stretch

 

Merrimack has been playing better & has themselves back in the hunt for a spot as does Memorial. There are some big games to be played in the next four days. Should be fun!!!

Could be a tough week for those schools with several games to play given the spotty weather forecast.  We only have one game left on Friday, though we played Sunday and Monday this past holiday weekend.  Good luck to everyone down the stretch. 

Still waiting for the "some day this weather will clear" days to happen....  Crazy weather - almost as crazy as the D1 baseball season.... Cannot figure out who's hot or cold. The only things for sure with 4 days remaining are:

 

 - Dover is #1

 - South is out

 - You better not leave your ace in the hole for game 1 of the playoffs

 

#2/3 is probably between Keene/Concord - with Concord having Dover/Spaulding left

#4/5/6 is probably Londonderry, Pinkerton, Spaulding

#7/8/9 is probably BG, Alvirne, Exeter

 

The rest are way too messy to even predict; however, there could be a 6 way tie at 6-12 for the final 4 playoff slots if Central, Merrimack, Timberlane, and Memorial don't win and Winni wins 1 and Trinity wins 2.

 

I would think Trinity must beat Central and Timby this week and hope for those teams to lose in order to have some sort of tie breaker chance at getting in. Beating BG/Pink only helps w/ W/L, but will be less meaningful in multi-way tiebreakers. Winni has two tough ones with Londonderry & Pinkerton (irony is that two years in a row Pinky could effectively eliminate Winni).

 

Dover will not have easy first round game... Merri is playing really well, Trinity has G, Memorial can throw Gonzales and hope their offense gets to (I assume) Lupi. Central, Timby, and Winni each has a solid ace, although I'm less sure of the health of Timby's ace.

 

 

Some good games yesterday:

 

Trinity is hanging on. John F. is right on the $ with this one. They need to beat central!!

 

Merrimack- has a tough couple of games but seem to have found a spark.

 

Timberlane- also with a tough couple of games. this will be interesting to see play out.  This caught me off gaurd a bit. I didn't realize Timby dropped back as far as they did.

 

Winni- with a loss to the Astro's with their #1 on the hill they put themselves in a very deep hole. Londonderry for them tomorrow.

Alvirne's ace beat Dover's yesterday... They need a win vs. Merri to assure themselves of a home playoff.  A loss could muddy things depending on Exeter and Bedford results.  Winni I think is pretty much done - they don't own a lot of tiebreakers vs. other 6 win teams.  Getting the feeling there will be three 6-12 teams that will finish 16-18 seeds.  Trinity plays two today - at 4P vs Pinkerton followed by the completion of their game with Central.  G is going in one of those games (take a guess which one).  He threw 1 2/3 yesterday vs. BG to get the save. Get a win today and beat Timby tomorrow and then it's anything can happen baseball season.

 

D2 looks pretty jumbled too - with 12 teams capable of finishing .500 or better... Of course there's 3 teams that could go ohhh-fer the season too!

 

D3 has an astounding 20 teams at or above .500 and 1 more on the cusp (with 1 remaining vs. an 8-7 team).   The playoff system in D3 will make things very challenging for some of those teams hoping to save their aces.

 

D4 has 11 teams at or above .500 - although it certainly seems there are a solid top 3 teams there.

Lunch Time--let's see if I can figure this out, flip a coin, and speculate.  But what do I know?  The sun's out.  That's a start.

 

1. Dover (14-3) It looks like a lock, since they beat Keene H2H and 14-4 is better than 14-5.

 

A jumble....but I don't get paid to look at too many tie-breakers

2. Keene (12-5) Look primed for a 2-seed.  Home vs. Tim and @ Exeter.  14-5????

3. Londonderry (12-6) 

4. Pinkerton (11-6)

5. Spaulding 10-6 Holds H2H tiebreaker vs. Concord

 

The next three....

6. Concord (11-6) Lost to Keene, Londonderry, Pinkerton, and Spaulding

7. BG (11-9) Losing 4 of 5 costs them a higher seed.

8. Alvirne (9-8) It seem that wins over Exeter and Bedford make them a lock for the last home game.  And their possible 9-9 would be better than Salem's best of 9-11.  Central winning 3 straight the next two days changes this, but that's a tall task.

 

The next 4....

9. Bedford (8-9)

10. Exeter (8-9)

11. Salem (8-11)

12. North (8-12)  Beat Central. Lost to MMK and Tim although 8-10 is better than 8-12, right?

13. Memorial (7-10) Winners of 4 out of 5 finish with a big one at Spaulding

 

The last group.....

14. Central (6-9) three games remain.  9-9 could move them up. 6-12 could push them out.

15. Merrimack (6-10) Holds a H2H tie-breaker with Central, Trinity, and Winny.  

16. Timberlane (6-10)

16a. Trinity (5-10) 

16b. Winny (5-12) Needs a big W and some help.  Holds H2H with Central and Trinity.

 

Enjoy the afternoon.

 

Well looks like the winner of the Timby/ Trinity game gets the last spot as Trinity lost both games today. I'm not sure what Trinity has for pitching left after today.

Slight change of subject - congratulations to Londonderry's Rob Del Signore for winning Gatorade Player of the Year in NH this year.  The paper said he is headed to Southern NH University next year.  He certainly put up some impressive pitching numbers this season and I'm sure he deserved the honor.

With all games done now - should be:

 

1. Dover

2. Keene

3. Pinkerton

4. Concord

5. Londonderry

6. Spaulding

7. Alvirne

8. BG

9. Bedford

10. Salem

11. Exeter

12. Memorial

13. North

14. Central

15. Timberlane

16. Merrimack

 

Anyone have an idea what would happen if games get rained out on Thursday

Probably push back to Friday - I know that BG cannot play Friday as it's their Baccalaureate Mass and Dinner.  Been a rough week already losing their pitching coach. Graduation is Sunday at 2 - so rain delays will make things very interesting.

A few pretty intriguing first round games can be found in D2 tomorrow.  The Conval(5)/John Stark (12) game pits First Team All Stars Ivon Clough and Tyler Keim squaring off in Peterborough.  I suspect this one will be won by which ever team plays best defense as neither is likely to let up many hits.

 

Windham (11) at Milford (6) will pit Jeff Peterson against Ryan Britton.  Milford has been the more consistent team this year.

 

St. Thomas (9) travels up to Lebanon (8) and and brings it's high powered offense led by Ryan McKenna against the stingy Lebanon defense.

 

Oyster River (7) tries to take down Coe Brown (10) a third time this year.

 

Hope the weather cooperates.  

Dodging raindrops in NH today....

 

Preparing for the 1st pitch of the D1 playoffs brings some interesting statistics.

 

All of the top tournament seeds (#1-#8) have beaten their 1st round playoff opponents in the regular season. Four of those eight games were decided by 2-runs or less.  

The top eight seeds are a combined 51-13 over the #9-#16 seeds.  One team, Keene is a perfect 8-0 against the second eight. Two teams, Pinkerton and Alvirne, were 5-3 against the second 8.  Dover, Concord, and Londonderry were 7-1.  The 14th seed, Central, is 4-4 against the top seeds. 

 

I don't know what this means, just food for thought.   Good luck to all.

 

So the #11, #13 and #15 seeds all pull the "upset" yesterday (whatever that means this year in D1 when anyone can beat anyone with their ace on the mound) to advance.  Can Merrimack, Salem and Memorial do the same today?