The Londonderry Junior Legion Post 27 Baseball Team had a busy and positive final week of the regular season, winning four of the six games they played.
The team wound up with a 12-6 record and will enter the 2024 tournament as the Number One Seed in the B Division.
Post 27 will start the tourney playing the A4 team from Nashua on Friday night, July 26, at Gill Stadium in Manchester, starting at 6 p.m.
The top four teams from District A and District B qualified for play in the Department Tournament in a Straight Double Elimination format.
In the first round games, the top two seeds of district A & B will play as the home team. From Games 5 to Game 13, a coin-flip will determine home team.
For game 14, the undefeated team will be home team. If the undefeated team loses game 14, winner of game 14 will be home team for game 15.
The team’s busy week started with a double header on Monday, July 15, where they came away with a split in Rochester against Post 7, in two very close contests. Londonderry won the first game 5-4 in extra innings, but then fell 9-10 in the second game, despite having a six-run lead after two innings.
Hits were hard to come by for Post 27 in the first game getting just five hits in total, but patience at the plate gave the team 12 walks, which added up to runs.
Londonderry had three pitchers go to the mound with Sully Daron getting the win, throwing the final three innings.
The final run was given up on a wild pitch in the ninth inning with bases loaded and two outs.
The second one-run game went to Post 7, despite getting off to a great start, Post 27 scored four in the first, then two in the second, building a comfortable six-run lead. Rochester came back in the next three innings, scoring five in the third, one in the fourth and four more in the fifth. Londonderry tried to keep pace, but fell one run shy in the seventh.
Post 27 had four pitchers in this one, with Nick Halko suffering the loss.
Londonderry out-hit Rochester 10-9, with Liam Killelea, Connor Loughlin, and Owen Crafts each getting two hits. Both of Loughlin’s were two-baggers.
Thursday night’s contest against Exeter was also decided by one slim run, with Post 27 winning 4-3 after putting up two runs in the final inning.
The game was decided on three walks and a balk by the Post 32 pitcher in the seventh.
Londonderry had seven hits in the game, with Jace Ruggiero and Brendan Fitzgerald both getting two hits, Ruggiero had his team’s only extra-base hit, a double to lead off the fourth.
On Friday night, against Post 7 again, this time at home, Londonderry got its third win of the week, in the team’s fourth consecutive one-run game.
The home team came back from a 6-4 deficit to win 8-7, with four runs in the fifth and sixth.
Graham Killelea got the win, pitching three and a third innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit and striking out two.
Londonderry bats got their eight runs off eight hits and struck out just four times. Ryan Gaspie got his team’s only extra base hit, a double in the fifth inning.
The Post 27 squad finished the regular season at home against Portsmouth’s Post 6, where Post 6 won the opener 4-9, as the home team, and Londonderry rallied to an 8-1 victory for the second game.
In the seven-run win, Londonderry out hit Post 6, 10-7, and struckout just twice.
Cam O’Donnell earned the win, pitching all seven innings with five Ks and three walks.