Bedford and Concord Take Lead in NH Little League State Finals

7/25/2015 Bedford, NH – The first day of the New Hampshire Little League State Tournament was full of fun and excitement as teams vied for the title of State Champion at both the 9/10 year-old and 11/12 year-old levels.

Starting in the morning, the Concord 9/10 year-old team beat Goffstown with a score of 5-2 at the end of six innings. Concord pitcher, Brooks Craigue (#2), kept Goffstown scoreless for much of the game as he threw six strikeouts in his five-and-two-thirds innings on the mound. The third inning saw Concord put four runs on the board, with Moses Carr (#1) hitting a triple then being batted in on a triple hit by Ryan Philbrick (#3). Isiah Robles (#14) was Concord’s most productive player, scoring runs in both the third and fifth innings.

Goffstown struggled to find their pitching rhythm, but starting pitcher Nate Innerfield (#9) threw two strikeouts in his two-and-one-third innings on the mound. They mounted a comeback late in the last inning, with Aiden O’Connell (#13) hitting a double for an RBI, and then scoring himself, but Goffstown was unable to close the deficit.

In the afternoon, the Bedford 11/12 year-old team beat Rye in a home run filled game, with a score of 10-5 at the end of six innings. Bedford pitcher, Michael Pratte (#20), made it difficult for Rye to get runners on base, throwing seven strikeouts in his five-and-one-third innings on the mound. The first home run was hit by Griffin Matthews (#12) of Rye in the second inning to tie the game 1-1.

Bedford put up a fantastic defensive display in the top of the third inning as they executed a textbook rundown play with catcher Kyle Lavigne (#24) charging the runner to freeze him, putting him in a pickle between second and third base where third-baseman Austin Bequeath (#16) finally ran him down for the out.

In the bottom of the third inning, with no outs and two runners on base, TJ Crowley (#2) hit a deep three-run home run to put Bedford ahead, but Rye’s starting pitcher Owen Fox (#9) ended their hopes for more runs that inning by striking Bedford’s next three batters out.

Bedford picked up their scoring streak in the bottom of the fourth inning, with three consecutive shots over the fence courtesy of Zach Fletcher (#44), Michael Pratte (#20), and Kyle Lavigne (#24). The fifth, and final Bedford home run came in the fifth inning and was hit by Matthew Landry (#18).

Going into the final inning, Bedford was leading 10-1 when Tristan Winder (#2) of Rye sent one over the fence for a three-run home run inspiring a late-game surge. However, despite a valiant effort, the surge wasn’t enough to close the deficit.

Both the Concord 9/10’s and the Bedford 10/11’s are up 1-0 in this best-of-three series. The teams will take to Blake Marston Field in Bedford again tomorrow, with the 9/10’s playing at 11:00am and the 11/12’s playing at 3:00pm.