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Hillies find missing bats

Saturday, April, 24 By Jeff Hamrick

XHAVERHILL — Yesterday’s game at Whittier was beginning to look just like Haverhill’s past couple disappointing outings. The Hillies, however, rediscovered their hitting strokes when they needed them most.

Held to five hits its previous 12 innings, Haverhill erupted for five more the final three and eked out a 4-3 victory over the crosstown-rival Wildcats.

The Hillies (3-2) raked three hits during a three-pitch sequence in a two-run sixth to take the lead, then got a two-out RBI single from starting pitcher Manny Vargas in the eighth.

“When you’re struggling, anytime you can win it’s a good thing,” said Haverhill coach Chip Dunn. “We battled all day, and that’s the one good thing. We’ve been struggling offensively the last few games and that inning we took the lead 3-2, we stung the ball.”

No. 9 hitter Nick Comei sparked Haverhill with a lead-off double to the left-field warning track in the sixth off Whittier’s Dillon Ryan, who pitched well in a complete-game loss. Matt Pickles plated Comei one pitch later with his second double of the day on a blast to the center-field fence, then scored on Brandan Bretton’s single on the ensuing pitch.

Vargas, who went 3 for 4 with a couple RBI, supplied the eighth-inning run with a bloop single that drove in Bretton, who had walked and stolen second. The combination was fitting since it was Bretton who replaced Vargas, who had thrown 126 pitches in his six-inning stint, to start the seventh and pitched two hitless innings for the victory.

Although the Hillies did have two errors, including one in the first that allowed Whittier to tie the score 1-1, they also made several nice defensive stops like a diving catch by left fielder Alex Ieronimo that stranded Whittier’s potential third run in the second.

“We had some good solid plays defensively, and we got some timely hits,” Dunn said. “That’s all I preach all day: Catch the ball, throw the ball. The only way we’re going to be in ball games is if we can battle. We’re going to struggle scoring runs, so we really have to play defense if we’re going to do anything.”

Whittier (3-2) took a 2-1 lead in the second on a two-out double by Colby Starner before tying the score 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out single by Billy Lafferty that drove in Steve Surette, who had doubled. The Wildcats also aided their cause with three double plays on Haverhill ground balls, including inning enders in the fifth and seventh. But they stranded 12 base runners, including four left at third base and had two would-be base stealers thrown out by catcher Dan Dubois.

“We did everything but win the game,” said Whittier coach Joe Boland. “Give (the Hillies) credit. They got the hits when they needed to, but I’m certainly not disappointed in this. This pleases me. We have a lot of young kids, but the leadership of the older guys like Nate Allen, Billy Lafferty and Dillon Ryan is starting to come around.”