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Resilient Andover outlasts Salem in 8

Monday, April, 25 By Hector Longo

ANDOVER — A premier pitching matchup morphed into an extra-innings thriller, and Andover High proved it could survive under both circumstances.

The Warriors knocked off Salem, N.H., 7-6, by rallying for a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, to snap a two-game slide and improve to 3-2 on the young campaign.

"That's a huge win for us, especially coming against a good, 5-1 baseball team like that," said Warrior Alex Driscoll, who doubled and tripled in the victory.

"Everyone rallied together when we needed it. Big hits at big times, and that's a good thing to see."
With BC-bound senior Nick Poore and promising Andover sophomore Dustin Hunt squaring off on the mound, runs were expect to be at a premium.

But Salem was patient in the early going, scraping single runs in each of the first three frames as Josh Treff, Joe Lemenager and Matt Loguidice (sac fly)had the RBIs.

Poore cruised through the early frames but felt his back stiffen.

"He was dominant," admitted Driscoll, who will head to Suffield Academy for a post grad year. "He was pumping it in the strikes and wasn't making any bad pitches."

The Warriors hung tough and chased the Eagle-Tribune All-Star lefty with a pair of runs in the fourth, the first two allowed by Poore on the year.

Andrew Risman broke the ice with a solid RBI hit between short and third, then Cam Farnham followed with an opposite field flare no-man's land, just sneaking the slicer inside the right-field line.

"Nick just stiffened up, and apparently it's happened before in Legion ball and in basketball," said Salem coach Dan Keleher, who lifted Poore after 3.2 innings (5 hits, 2 er, 1 bb, 3k).

"I saw him bending over, trying to loosen up and that was it. We'll just spend the rest of the week now, getting him rehabbed and ready to go the rest of the way.

With both starters out — Hunt lasted 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs — the offenses took turns, trying to claim the win.

Zach Stevens and Dan Morin came off the bench with huge pinch-hits to knot things up at 5-5 in the top of the seventh for Salem. The Blue Devils looked to be in the driver's seat when Joe DiPalma plated Joe Morin with a clutch two-out hit for the 6-5 lead in the eighth.

But Tom Dempsey worked a walk and Andrew Risman singled to open the Andover eighth. With one out, Burton Deady laced a 3-2 fastball into center to tie it, and senior Sean McQuillan ended things with a walkoff single, scoring Deady.

"We picked up Andover to be in more games like this," said Keleher, who sends Dan Peters to the hill vs. West tomorrow. "We saw a lot of positives today, and it's only going to help us."