State of Sports: A new season in baseball and softball, but some familiar names
Apr. 11—WITH HIGH SCHOOL spring sports now in session, here are five storylines to help preview the NHIAA baseball and NHIAA softball seasons:
1. Who are the best players in the state?
Here are 20 to keep an eye on in each sport:
BASEBALL: Jake Albert (Pinkerton), Elias Bourque (Nashua North), Owen Carey (Londonderry), Nolan Colby (Souhegan), Cole Constantine (Windham) Brooks Craigue (Concord), Connor Fennell (Londonderry), Patrick Foulis (Bedford), Charles Hale (Hollis-Brookline), Jackson Marshall (Pinkerton), Grant McCubrey (Nashua South), Eliot Medlock (Merrimack), Elliot Miles (Portsmouth), Matt Minckler (Portsmouth), Aiden O'Connell (Bedford), Declan Ryan (Central/West), Sam Sacerdote (Hanover), Ryan Strand (Goffstown), Nater Wachter (Concord) and Cole Yennaco (Pinkerton).
SOFTBALL: Aby Alexander (Pinkerton), Kristin Beebe (Exeter), Morgan Bemont (ConVal), Gabriella Bernier (Prospect Mountain), Margaret Boyd (Plymouth), Annie Christiana (Exeter), Olivia Cutuli (Londonderry), Madison DeCota (Coe-Brown), Ari DeCotis (Windham), Kailey Disco (Hollis-Brookline). Olivia Hargreaves (John Stark), Austyn Kump (Hollis-Brookline), Hannah McGonigle (Bow), Kylyn McLaren (Spaulding), Jennifer Olson (Salem), Emma Plourde (Exeter), Morgyn Stevens (Kingswood), Maddie Schoenenberger (Pinkerton), Sarah Taylor (Concord) and Maddy Wachter (Concord).
2. Can anyone knock off Monadnock?
The Huskies have won the last two Division III baseball championships and entered the 2023 season with the state's longest winning streak (25 games), which was the 14th-longest streak in the nation when the 2022 season ended. They extended that streak to 26 games with a 10-0 victory over Hopkinton on Monday.
Monadnock lost five seniors from last year's team and will lean on senior Cam Olivo and junior Ben Dean this season.
Olivo, who has committed to play for Southern New Hampshire University, is a pitcher/first baseman who batted .422 with five home runs and 31 RBIs last season. He also went 5-0 with a 3.13 ERA in 32 2/3 innings on the mound.
Dean, a catcher, will also be used on the mound this season. He hit .321 with 23 RBIs last spring.
No team has won three straight NHIAA championships since Portsmouth won four consecutive Division II titles from 2008-2011.
3. Why Exeter at Concord (May 17) is a must-see softball game
These teams played two of the most entertaining games in any NHIAA sport last season. Exeter earned a 1-0, eight-inning victory in the second matchup, which was the Division I championship game.
There's no reason to think the Blue Hawks and Crimson Tide won't tangle for the title again this season. Exeter returned 10 players from last year's team, including Beebe, who was selected as the Division I Pitcher of the Year and the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.
Concord has a strong one-two punch in the circle because Wachter and Taylor — the team's top two pitchers last season — are both back. Both were all-Division I selections in 2022.
Concord had a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh in the regular-season matchup between the teams last season, but pinch-hitter Edy Crawford hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give Exeter the win.
The entertainment level is high when these teams are on the same field.
4. No baseball team had a better offseason than Bedford
The Bulldogs snagged the best free agent on the market when Aiden O'Connell, a left-handed pitcher, transferred from Goffstown. O'Connell, who helped Bedford win the Division I basketball championship last month, will play for Northwestern next season.
O'Connell missed the 2022 high school season with an injury, but struck out 12 in four innings to help Bedford open its season with a 13-2 victory over Keene on Monday. With O'Connell and Patrick Foulis, the top of Bedford's rotation may be the best in the state.
5. The favorite to win the Division I baseball championship is ...
Londonderry. The Lancers were a young team last season, but found their stride midway through the season and finished as the runner-up to Pinkerton Academy. This year's team has depth in the lineup, strong pitching and experience — all the ingredients it takes to win a title.
Bedford, Pinkerton and Portsmouth are also on the short list of contenders. Of course it's never easy in Division I, and there are several other teams capable of derailing Londonderry during its path to the title.
