Division II baseball championship: Hale storm as pitcher's three-hitter leads Hollis-Brookline
Jun. 10—MANCHESTER — Hollis-Brookline proved to be the best NHIAA baseball team in Division II last spring, and the same can be said for this year's Cavaliers as well.
Second-seeded Hollis-Brookline secured its second Division II title in as many years by beating eighth-seeded Plymouth, 5-0, in Saturday's Division II championship game at Delta Dental Stadium.
Starting pitcher Charlie Hale went the distance for the Cavaliers, who beat St. Thomas in the 2022 Division II championship game. Hale recorded 14 strikeouts, allowed three hits and faced 22 batters — one over the minimum.
Hale, a senior, was the starting shortstop on last year's team. He called Saturday's effort his best pitching performance of the season.
"It was a different role this year, but I did the job for the team," Hale said. "I was told on Wednesday after the semifinals I would be starting this game, so the next few days leading up to it I was just making sure I was hydrated, and on the bus ride here I was trusting myself. I've learned to trust myself ... trust my pitches."
Zak Lussier, Jack Hale and Alex Razzaboni each had two hits for Hollis-Brookline (16-3). Hale added two RBIs, and Razzaboni, the Division II Player of the Year, scored twice.
Hollis-Brookline coach James Sartell said Hale's performance didn't come as a surprise.
"I don't know if he's done that (14 strikeouts) before, but he's been solid on the mound since he was a sophomore," Sartell said. "Huge part of the team, huge part of the order. He's a Cavalier through and through, that kid."
Lucas Diamond collected two of Plymouth's three hits, all of which were singles. Thomas Daigneault had Plymouth's other hit. The Bobcats (12-8) made a strong tournament run after losing their last five regular-season games.
"The whole season, these guys have shown a lot of grit, a lot of determination," Plymouth coach Mike Boyle said. "Nine of our wins we came from behind. It just shows they don't quit. They don't give up on each other."
Plymouth starting pitcher Johnny Flaherty surrendered three runs on six hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out two. The Cavaliers scored their two other runs against reliever Logan Finkle. Both runs came on Jack Lager's two-run single in the fifth.
It was scoreless until the Cavaliers scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. After back-to-back singles by Lussier and Razzaboni, Lussier put Hollis-Brookline up 1-0 by scoring on an infield error. Razzaboni made it 2-0 when he scored from third on a fielder's choice, and Gavin Knudsen's RBI single drove in Dylan Morelli with Hollis-Brookline's third run.
"We just ran into a pitcher today who was dealing," Boyle said. "We couldn't get anything going. Tip your cap to that kid, Hale. He did a great job just keeping us off balance. The game plan was to create a little chaos, but to do that you have to put the ball in play. He was on fire today."
