Local roundup: Hartford relies on arms and gloves to win

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. — When the offense isn’t clicking, pitching and defense can still win baseball games.

Alex Bushway tossed a complete-game three-hitter and got huge support in the field from second baseman Nick Martin as the Hartford High baseball team topped Lyndon Institute, 4-1, on Tuesday.

The points coming from a road win over a VPA Division I team certainly won’t hurt the Hurricanes’ efforts to stay in the upper half of D-II, and the memory of this one will come from the two elements every baseball coach yearns to have.

“When you’re forcing teams to put the ball in play, and when you make the plays that aren’t necessarily routine, that’s not a bad thing,” 19th-year Hartford coach Jarrod Grassi noted.

Bushway had perhaps his mound outing of the season. The sophomore fanned five without a walk, and the only run he allowed — in Lyndon’s final at-bat — was unearned.

“His last two outings, he’s been very efficient at getting ahead, throwing his fastball, curve and change-up for strikes,” Grassi said. “The big think is the no walks. He made them put it in play. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Martin made three big defensive plays at second base to keep Hartford (3-5) in control. He made a leaping line-drive catch to initiate a double play in the fourth inning, adding a catch and throw from behind second base for another out as well as a third after charging a slow roller.

Bushway helped himself at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Canes had just six hits as a team, making the pitching and defense that much more essential.

Hartford goes to Otter Valley on Wednesday.

LINCOLN, N.H. — Calvin Roy and Patrick Reardon-Estes both had three-RBI afternoons as the Engineers (11-0) stayed unbeaten and near the top of the NHIAA Division IV standings.

Roy went 3-for-3 with two doubles and scored three times. Reardon-Estes was 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Ricky Vinnacomb had a 3-for-4 line with two runs and two RBIs.

Zach Moore went all five innings for Woodsville, allowing three hits and striking out six. The Engineers host Gorham on Wednesday.

SOUTH ROYALTON — Jake Hewitt and Carder Stratton combined on a no-hitter in game two as the Wildcats (10-0) stayed unbeaten near the top of the VPA Division III standings.

Hewitt and Stratton each worked two innings in the nightcap, with the former striking out four and the latter fanning five. Stratton, Bazel Russell and Dominic Craven all had two hits, Scott Flesch slapped his first varsity hit and Fausto Vazquez walked in his first varsity plate appearance for WRV.

Timber Russell earned the win in the opener, allowing just one hit in four innings with six strikeouts and one walk. George Carr drove in three runs and joined Stratton and Logan Martin in the two-runs-scored department.

The Phoenix (1-6) hosts Rivendell on Thursday, the same day WRV entertains Blue Mountain.

NEWPORT — Tyler Bonneau led the Cardinals (5-7) to a win with three hits and three RBIs.

Owen Taylor and Cam Macia both had a hit and two RBIs for Stevens. Dennis Peaslee added two hits, and Jarett LaPointe contributed a single and a run batted in. Ethan Johnson made the most of the support in a complete-game win on the mound.

“It was just one of those games where everything went right for us and didn't go so well for them,” Stevens coach Paul Silva said.

The Cards are off for two days in advance of a busy weekend that will include a trip to Kennett on Friday followed by games on Saturday at Bow and Windsor.

The Tigers (2-8) head to Mascenic on Wednesday.

NEW IPSWICH, N.H. — The Vikings jumped on the Royals for six first-inning runs, and the visitors ran out of innings in their comeback attempt.

Mascenic used “a ton of walks” along with some key bunts and hits in its opening salvo. Down 9-3 after three, Mascoma picked up a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh before running out of outs.

Mike Evans and Alex Jenness both had two hits and an RBI for Mascoma, and Caleb McAlister added a run batted in as well. The Royals (3-8) host Monadnock on Wednesday.

NEWPORT — Shelby Adams used a two-run homer to cap a four-run second inning for the Tigers (8-3), breaking a 2-2 tie and sending Newport to its sixth consecutive victory.

Adams, Jenna Maheu and Libby Tremblay led an 11-hit Tiger attack, each going 3-for-4 on the afternoon. Maheu had a team-high four RBIs, singling home Lacey McNeel in the first inning, driving in Erin Seagrove with a second-inning single and providing a two-run double in the fifth. Adams drove in two runs, and Tremblay knocked home one.

That was plenty for pitcher McNeel, who struck out nine against three walks and seven hits. The Tigers visit Mascenic in a key NHIAA Division III showdown on Wednesday.

SOUTH ROYALTON — A day after being no-hit by Oxbow, the Wildcats (9-1) rumbled back for a mercy-rule win over the Mounties.

Blake Southworth earned a complete-game win pitching for White River Valley, striking out 12. She added a triple and two RBIs to a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Hannah White was 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, and Sophie Howe added two hits and two RBIs.

The Wildcats (9-1) host Blue Mountain in a key Central Vermont League showdown on Thursday.

LINCOLN, N.H. — Seven Engineers drove in at least three runs in a rout of the Lumberjacks.

Morgan Wagstaff, Sarah Britton and Emily Prest all homered for Woodsville (8-3), which amassed 16 hits. Britton finished with a game-high four RBIs. Wagstaff, Prest, Mackenzie Kingsbury, McKenzie Dennis, Emma Restelli and Maude McIntyre each drove in three runs.

Woodsville hosts Gorham on Wednesday.

BOW, N.H. — The Marauders (1-8) rallied from a 5-2 deficit with a three-run third only to have the Falcons score four times in the bottom of the frame to take control.

Sophomore Emily Jones did give Hanover an important effort in the circle. Normally a mid-game reliever, Jones went the distance for the Marauders, keeping Bow’s bats in check until a four-run sixth finally decided matters.

Bella Bardales doubled home Olivia Peterson to kick off Hanover’s three-run third; she and Arabella Snyder later scored on passed balls to tie the game at 5-5. Bardales and Daria Gundermann each had three hits for Hanover, and Bardales scored three times.

Hanover hosts Souhegan at the Dresden Athletic Fields in Norwich on Thursday.

WINDSOR — The Yellowjackets (3-7) ran into a strong offensive and defensive foe at MacLeay-Royce Field.

Brattleboro pitching held Windsor to three hits. Adi Prior scored the Jacks’ only run of the game in the sixth, reaching on an error, moving up on an Ava Sutton bunt and a Brooke McKeen single before coming home on a passed ball. Peyton Richardson tripled in the fifth, but the Jacks couldn’t bring her home. Richardson went the distance in the circle as well, fanning four and walking six.

Windsor, which turned its first 6-4-3 double play of the season in the second inning, welcomes Stevens on Thursday.

NEW IPSWICH, N.H. — The Vikings reeled off their eighth straight victory at the Royals’ expense.

Morgan Prentiss and Alayna Miller accounted for both of Mascoma’s runs batted in, Prentiss delivering hers with a double. Paige Jette also had a double for the Royals (1-11), who have dropped 10 in a row.

Pitcher Sam Pecararo threw four innings and recorded five strikeouts for Mascoma, which hosts Monadnock on Wednesday.

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. — A Cassidy Beisler RBI single plated Navaeh Murphy with the Canes’ sole run in a loss to the Division I Vikings. Lyndon (10-0) has run-ruled all but one of its opponents to date, all but one of them from D-II.

Bailey Bean threw five innings in the circle for Hartford, which hosts Rutland on Wednesday.

NORTHWOOD, N.H. — Tessa Stewart, Isla Cotter and Emma Taylor all notched their first varsity goals as the Marauders (5-5) made quick work of the Bears.

Maddie McCorkle (two goals, three assists) and Caroline Adams (one goal, one assist) combined on 12 draw controls to keep Hanover in charge. Jasmine Lou scored a team-high six goals for the Marauders, with Maggie Lee, Jessica Seibel and Katie Naughton all contributing hat tricks. Anna Kirkpatrick, Riley Craft and Allie McCorkle also scored for the Marauders; Kirkpatrick added two assists to one each from Lee, Seibel and Aiden Stone. Allison Lichtenstein made four saves.

Hanover plays its third game in a four-games-in-four-days stretch when it visits John Stark on Wednesday.

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Senior Lindsay Nichols scored her first varsity goal to highlight an all-around solid night for the Hurricanes (7-4).

Hartford, which held an 11-3 halftime lead, received hat tricks from Zoe Pfeiffer (three assists), Carolyn North and freshman Caroline Hamilton. Greer McCarty had two goals and two helpers; Tayler Simmons, Alice Dwyer and Bella Lukowitz added a goal and an assist apiece. Anna Lynch also scored a goal, and Emi Harlow made five saves in goal.

The Canes are off until hosting Spaulding on Monday.

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — The Raiders (6-5) had hoped to claim two wins on Wednesday but settled for one with a dominant defeat of the Grizzlies.

Kian Schifferdecker had the match of the day for Lebanon, erasing a 6-4 deficit and giving up a 7-6 lead before taking a 9-8 win at second singles thanks to a 7-2 tiebreaker. Mason Arado (8-3), Nate Magari (8-1), Tyler St. Martin (8-2) and Roneet Arora (8-3) claimed singles points; Arado and Seamus Hickey took first doubles, 8-0, and Lebanon grabbed a second by forfeit.

A planned trip to Pembroke earlier Tuesday was postponed by rain, leaving Lebanon to play two road matches — including one at powerhouse Portsmouth — on Thursday. The Raiders visit Windham on Wednesday.

WORCESTER, Mass. — Lebanon High graduate Scott Faucher is the new men’s basketball coach at Assumption College.

Faucher, who also graduated from Wheaton College in 2013, has been a head coach for only one season. He guided Nichols College to the most successful season in program history last winter, going 28-3 and reaching the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.

Faucher was selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as one its 30-under-30, representing the most outstanding men’s college coaches below the age of 30. He was one of only three non-Division I head coaches included on the prestigious list.

Prior to Nichols, Faucher spent four seasons as a full-time assistant coach at Division III Bowdoin College in Maine. His previous stop was at St. Michaels College, and he is the founder and director of the Lebanon Longhorns AAU program. Faucher’s father, Dave, served as the head coach of the Big Green from 1991-2004.

Assumption was 8-20 overall and 4-17 in the Northeast 10 Conference last season, last in the standings. It competes at the NCAA Division II level.