Victories over Manchester Memorial and Nashua North last week enabled the Londonderry High baseball squad to complete its 2017 regular season with an 11-9 record and the ninth seed in tough Division I.
The Lancers simply pummeled the Memorial Crusaders by a 7-2 score on their home field at Manchester’s Gill Stadium on Wednesday, May 24, scoring twice in the second inning and three more times in the third in pounding their way out to a 5-0 advantage.
Londonderry only notched five hits in bagging the victory, with Jonny Meskell smacking two of those and driving in two runs. His teammate Reece Manor also drove in two teammates.
Pitchers Travis Peabody and Dakota Johnson combined to hold Memorial to seven hits and those two runs, and the hurlers also combined for six strikeouts.
Coach Brent Demas’ LHS crew had a considerably tighter outcome in their season-closer in a 5-4, extra-inning victory which took parts of two days to complete.
The game started as scheduled on Thursday, May 25, in Londonderry, but in the third inning it had to be suspended due to rain. It was concluded the next day at Lancer Park.
Anthony Pirolli drew the start for the locals, but Nick Salcito took over on the hill the next afternoon and went six superb innings in bagging the pitching victory.
“Sal ended up throwing six exceptionally strong innings and kept us in the game until the final hit of the ninth,” said Demas. “He ended up with a stat line of six innings pitched, four hits allowed, eight strikeouts, and two walks.”
The hosts busted a 4-4 tie in the bottom half of the ninth inning when Andy Ross laced a ringing single down the right field line which scored Johnson with the winning run.
“Today was a great team effort, and we were able to use our playoff roster as well,” said Demas.
The ninth-seeded Lancers will face off with number eight Salem on the Blue Devils’ home field this Thursday, June 1, in a rematch of their memorable 2016 first-round contest.