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N.H. Baseball Playoffs
Engineers Upend Bears
By MICHAEL STONE, Sports Writer
Friday June 1, 2001
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- WOODSVILLE - One reason Woodsville's Nick Carbee likes baseball is the game's opportunity for redemption.
In Thursday's Class M playoff contest with Winnisquam, the visiting Bears got their only run in the sixth with a single to left on a ball that Carbee - the Engineers' third baseman - felt he should have stopped.
But in the bottom half of the inning the sophomore more than made up for it with a bases-loaded single, driving in the game-winning run as Woodsville beat Winnisquam, 4-1.
With the win, the eighth-seeded Engineers (10-4) advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals against Gilford or Newport, at 7 p.m. at Spaulding High School.
Gilford (13-1), the top-seeded team in Class M, defeated Woodsville during the regular season, 10-7.
"We're going to have to play like we did today to have a shot at (Gilford)," Holden said. "They hit the ball well, they field the ball well. They're a very good team."
Both the Engineers and Bears were Thursday.
The two teams had runners reach base in the first six innings, only to have the pitchers - Gaylon Lucas for Woodsville and Corey Lachapelle for Winnisquam - get out of jams with some defensive help.
Lucas (5-1) allowed six hits and walked two with six strikeouts, and pitched himself out of predicaments twice.
He got out of a bases-loaded situation in the second with an inning-ending strikeout and a first-and-third situation in the third with a pair of popups.
Keegan Skidmore made a pair of running catches in center field for the Engineers, the second in the sixth to hold the Bears to one run, Carbee caught a foul pop off the glove of catcher Jacob Holden in the fifth, and then Holden made a sliding catch of a foul pop in the seventh.
Lachapelle was able to pitch out of one-out jams in the first and third innings, and was helped by the Winnisquam defense, which turned two double plays, and left fielder Matt Hilliker tracked down a pair of fly balls that looked to be sure doubles.
But that all changed in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Holden was hit by a pitch, and one out later Lucas and Todd Moulton drew walks, loading the bases.
Carbee followed and busted an inside pitch just over the shortstop's head, scoring Holden and Lucas, giving the Engineers a 2-1 lead.
"I made an error at third, but baseball's a game where you can make up for a mistake," Carbee said. "I was looking for anything to hit. I hit it right off the fists and it fell in."
Carbee's single broke the dam for the Engineers. Moulton, who had gone to third on the hit, came home on a wild pitch, and Woodsville added another run when Winnisquam third baseman Ben Ellis couldn't handle Zack Smith's ground ball.
Given a three-run lead, Lucas made quick work of the Bears in the seventh.
The junior struck out Eric Prince to start the inning, got Ellis on a comebacker, and then watched as Holden's sliding catch of Adrian Pelletier's foul pop-up ended the game.
"I didn't feel I was up to my full potential, but everybody played great defense behind me," Lucas said. "(The lead) took a lot of pressure off in the seventh. I just threw strikes and we got the outs."
Carbee had two of Woodsville's four hits, with Moulton adding a single in the second and Skidmore hit a double in the third.
Dustin Ellis and Jason Brady had two hits each for Winnisquam (8-5).
Winnisquam 000 001 0 - 1 6 4
Woodsville 000 004 x - 4 4 1
Winnisquam - Lachapelle and D. Ellis; Woodsville - Lucas and Holden.
WP - Lucas, 5-1; LP - Lachapelle, 3-3.
2B - Tilton (Wi); Skidmore (Wo); 3B - D. Ellis (Wi).
Records: Woodsville 10-4, Winnisquam 8-5.
CLASS S
Colebrook 9, Wilton-Lyndeborough 3
The top-seeded Mohawks weren't perfect, said Coach Tim Purrington, but played well enough to beat the Warriors and advance to the quarterfinals.
Chris Ladd and Brian White had the big hits for Colebrook (16-1). Ladd's bases-loaded triple in the third highlighted a five-run inning, and White hit his second home run of the season in the fourth, a two-run shot.
"We responded quite well for not playing in a week," Purrington said. "The toughest part was it was cold and the wind was blowing.
"Ladd scortched the ball over the left fielder's head. That ball was smoked. And Brian hit his pretty hard."
Seth Boutin (5-0) picked up the win, allowing two runs on three hits over four innings. Kevin Trask, who also had two hits, pitched the final three innings for the save.
The Mohawks face Moultonborough at 4 p.m. Saturday at Plymouth State College.
Wilton 101 010 0 - 3 5 5
Colebrook 205 200 x - 9 7 1
Wilton - Vanderhoof, Lemear (4) and Miller; Colebrook - Boutin, Trask (5) and White.
WP - Boutin 5-0; LP - Vanderhoof; S - Trask.
2B - Ladd (C), Trask (C), Maxwell (C); HR - White (C).
Records: Colebrook 16-1, Wilton 2-12.
Lisbon 8, Alton 2
LISBON - The fourth-seeded Panthers (12-4) moved on to the quarterfinals but lost a player in beating the Apaches.
Dusty Dodge, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, was ejected by the home plate umpire when he ruled Dodge did not attempt to slide at a play at the plate.
The ejection carries a one-game suspension, so Dodge will not play in Saturday's 1 p.m. game against fifth-seeded Derryfield at Plymouth High School.
"Losing Dusty is a tough blow, because the rule is based on the interpretation of the umpire," Lisbon coach Tom White said. "I don't like the rule, because it takes baseball out of things. But he made his call and we have to live with it."
Dodge wasn't the only offensive standout for Lisbon, as freshman Tom White scored three runs, Ed Natti had two RBIs and Derrick Wilkins added two hits.
Senior Ryan Schofield pitched a four-hitter, striking out seven without a walk.
Alton 200 000 0 - 2 4 5
Lisbon 301 004 x - 8 9 1
Alton - Hillsgrove and Blanchard; Lisbon - Schofield and Alberts.
WP - Schofield 5-0; LP - Hillsgrove.
2B - Dodge (L), Alberts (L).
Records: Lisbon 12-4, Alton 5-8.
Moultonborough 9, Groveton 4
MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. - Too many errors and not enough hits doomed the visiting Eagles against the eighth-seeded Panthers.
"It was kind of a Ôwhat if' game," Groveton co-coach Kerry Pelletier said. "We didn't get the big hit when we needed it, and we made some mistakes that cost us runs."
Pat Reynolds had one of the Eagles' (9-7) five hits and the team's lone RBI.
The Eagles Keenan Hibbard was the tough-luck loser, allowing just two earned runs over three innings.
"I figured we would play a little bit better," Pelletier added. "Keenan made two mistakes, and they both went over the fence. In the sixth inning we cut into the lead, and then we throw the ball all over and gave them two runs. It was a tough day."
Groveton 101 002 0 - 4 5 5
Moultonborough 222 102 x - 9 7 4
Groveton - Hibbard, Collins (4), Crosby (6) and Collins, Young (4); Moultonborough - Fornier, Morgan (6) and Cahoon.
WP - Fornier; LP - Hibbard.
HR - Fornier (M), Morgan (M).
Records: Groveton 9-7; Moultonborough 9-5.
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