With 10 games gone in its 2018 season coming into this week, the Londonderry High baseball squad found itself struggling to find and maintain its stride.
Longtime coach Brent Demas’ Lancers snared a very solid win over Merrimack early last week in registering their third success of 2018. But that victory was followed by consecutive defeats at the hands of Nashua South and Pinkerton, and Londonderry stepped into this week having dropped five of its last six games and saddled with a pretty disappointing 3-7 record.
The Lancers notched an 8-4 victory over Merrimack at LHS last Tuesday, May 1, after having that match-up rained out the previous day.
Nate Sullivan gave his side an excellent pitching performance, going six strong innings and allowing just one unearned run.
“It was the correction the coaching staff was looking for after the miserable April start to the season,” said Demas.
Offensively, the hosts got a three-run double from Anthony Ferraro with the bases full, Zack Luongo drove in two with a seeing-eye single, and Ricky Perry had two hits and an RBI.
“The goal is to have a solid May that will lead us into a great June,” said the coach.
But things didn’t go quite so well for the locals the next night over in Nashua, where they were dealt an 8-6 loss by the South Purple Panthers.
Londonderry received three hits from Reece Manor and two – with two runs batted in – from Brandon Fish. The freshman laced a big triple in the top half of the seventh.
“The boys need to focus up and make things happen rather than wait for them to happen and react,” said Demas. “We will get there, but time is not a friend. The coaches have decided to make a few changes in the structure of the team and the line-up. Let’s see who responds.”
But things couldn’t have gone a whole bunch worse for Demas and his guys in a 9-0, Beeman Trophy loss to rival Pinkerton in magnificent spring weather at LHS on Saturday the 5th.
Lefty pitcher Anthony Pirolli gave Londonderry a gutsy, six-inning effort, but his offense could do little against four Pinkerton hurlers on a rough day.
“Anthony Pirolli deserved a better fate today,” said Demas. “On a beautiful Saturday at the park he threw the ball well. He was keeping Pinkerton to dink hits and bloops – all legit hits of course – but they didn’t really square any hits up on him. A sign that the pitcher is on.”
The Astros finished up with a dozen hits and the Londonderry offense only managed three, with a pair of those coming off of the bat of junior varsity call-up Sean Cavanaugh. Rookie Fish tallied the other LHS hit.
“Other than that, we just hit the ball at people, again. The only thing we can do is go forward from here,” added Demas. “It does no good to dwell on the past, but people need to step up or step out in the next game. We still a half a season left to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Lancers began this week on Monday May 7 by traveling to Salem High which had enjoyed the opposite fate of Londonderry in its previous six games, winning five of them.
But the locals regained their footing in an 11-5 thumping of the Salem squad, bagging a victory which they very much needed in moving to 4-7. Sullivan starred on the mound and his offense scored multiple runs in the third (2), fourth (3), and seventh (4) innings.