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Windham Jaguars Baseball '17

Wed, Jun 07, 2017 04:00 PM @ Souhegan
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Final
Windham 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 5
Souhegan 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 10

Windham falls short in Division 2 semifinal

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Wednesday, June, 07 By David Willis
Staff writer

HOOKSETT — For a while, it looked as if Windham had taken control of the game.

Jaguars relief pitcher Alex Morrow had just escaped a bases-loaded, no out jam by starting a slick double play with the help of catcher Chris Houde in the bottom of the fourth. And in the next half inning, Connor O’Neil tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

With the Souhegan starter tiring, Windham appeared ready to strike.

“We came back twice to tie it and that shows our heart,” said Jaguars head coach Leo Gravell. “But that is a Souhegan team that can take a punch, and they showed that. A lot of teams, when you come back, will take a step back. But they never did that. They kept coming.”
No. 2 seed and defending state champion Souhegan rebounded with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to down No. 3 Windham 10-5 in the New Hampshire Division 2 semifinals at Southern New Hampshire University.
It was the third time the Jaguars (14-4) had fallen to the Sabres (15-3) this season, accounting for all but one of their losses.
“We have four blemishes on our record this season and three of them are to Souhegan,” said Gravell. “They have some great players, and had a great pitcher on the mound tonight. All the credit goes to them.”
Windham pitchers struggled mightily with control problems throughout the contest. The Jaguars walked 12 batters, six of whom came around to score, and two others forced in runs.
“It hurt us some,” said Gravell. “But we were also hurt by balls that were thrown over the plate that ended up as hits. The middle of the Souhegan lineup is as good as any you will see and they really cover the plate.”
The Jags were able to bounce back from a pair of early deficits.
Trailing 2-0 after an inning, designated hitter Ben Daniels tied the game with a two-run double to left field.
After falling behind 4-2, Windham struck back with a run in the fourth on a Chad Roche sacrifice fly. O’Neil then tied the game in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to deep center field.
“That is a good team and we could not give them anything free,” said Souhegan coach William Dod. “You could not give them a free base or a free out. They are a great team with a great pitching staff and a very good lineup.”
But after the Sabres took back the lead the Jaguars could manage just one more run, on a Steven Koza sacrifice fly in the sixth.
“The record shows that we had a very good season,” said Gravell. “We have 12 seniors, so it is going to be a very different feeling next season. But a lot of teams would be happy with a 14-4 record.”

Game Statistics:

N.H. Division 2 Semifinals

Windham (5): Donovan Hopkins cf 3-1-1, Chad Roche rf 4-0-2, Tommy Costa ss 3-0-0, Steven Koza 1b/3b 3-0-1, Riley Parent lf 1-2-0, Chris Houde c 4-0-0, Connor O'Neil 3b/2b 2-2-1, Ben Daniels dh 4-0-2, Brandon Dufault p/1b 0-0-0, Jordan Matthews 2b/p 0-0-0, Thomas Splagounias ph 1-0-0, Ryan Faria p 0-0-0, Alex Morrow p 0-0-0. Totals 25-5-7

Souhegan (10): Ryan Hill cf 5-2-3, Bryce Reagan ss 3-2-3, Max Benevides rf 3-2-1, Owen Batchelder p/1b 4-0-2, Tucker Aiello 2b/3b 1-0-0, Caelan Behn c 4-0-0, Ethan Trzepacz 1b 2-1-0, Matthew Zifchak dh 3-1-0, Jacob Gassett ss/p 2-2-0. Totals 27-10-9

RBI: W — Daniels 2, Koza, Roche, O'Neil; S — Hill 3, Batchelder 3, Reagan, Benevides, Trzepacz

WP: Batchelder; LP: Morrow

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