Goffstown In Baseball

Goffstown, NH was incorporated in 1761. Goffstown ranks as just the 14th largest municipality in the state of New Hampshire. The 2010 Census put Goffstown’s population at 17,651. Roughly 15% of the population is between age 18 and age 24, or approximately 2,648 people. I am going to point out some more details from this age group a little later on in this piece. There are roughly 4,000 folks in Goffstown that are under the age of 18, in this group, nearly 10% of this group play baseball in the Goffstown Jr. Baseball organization. I point these numbers out because I find these things interesting enough to share.

Goffstown is a small town. There are 202 municipalities in New England that are larger than Goffstown. For this piece I refer to Goffstown baseball based on the towns the school district pulls from. Goffstown, New Boston (2010 census pop. 5,321), and Dunbarton (2010 census pop. 2,758) make up the school district. I will also point out which town the individuals mentioned in this piece hail from. Even though I consider Goffstown a small town, it is one of the reasons I chose to live here. Goffstown, however, is not small on baseball. Which is ultimately the point of this post today.

I have coached baseball in Goffstown, and I have followed Goffstown baseball passionately for a few years now. Somehow, year after year, this little town competes for baseball State Championships in numerous age groups.

• Since 2000 Goffstown High School (GHS) has competed in four State Championship games and won three of them.
• The Goffstown American Legion baseball team which was re-founded by Pete and Mary Jane Kiro in 2005 after a nearly 30 year absence, qualified for the state tournament in just its fourth season. By 2010, the Goffstown Legion Baseball Club won the NH State Tournament and finished 3rd in the Northeast Regional.
• In Babe Ruth baseball since 2000, Goffstown Babe Ruth teams have won no less than six NH Championships between ages 13 and 15.
• In Little League baseball play, Goffstown Jr. Baseball has won two State Championships since 2000 in the age 12 division. The 2000 team went on to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Since 2004, Goffstown’s Little League teams have won two State Championships in the age 9-10 division, while adding a runner-up as well. The age 10-11 squads have amassed four State Championships while playing for the title six times. Those four titles were consecutive.

As you can see, recent baseball history in Goffstown has been pretty successful as it relates to play within NH. Championships aren’t easy to come by. And there have been hundreds more good ball players to come through Goffstown that didn’t win a State Championship. Every year there are successes in baseball here in Goffstown, title or not. But we figure, if you’re going to keep score, and measure results, then we will track our titles. As it should be. Be the best you can be, and set the standard high, someone’s always watching.

Now let’s go in a different direction. This direction relates strictly to the school year of 2011-2012. I may point out some of the individual’s past achievements while covering this season. I think it’s safe to say that baseball is a pretty big deal in small-town Goffstown. This piece, however, is called Goffstown In Baseball. Here is why. As the college baseball season winds down and post-season tournaments fill some teams schedules, Goffstown, again, shows up on the radar. Of the some 2,648 people aged 18-24 in Goffstown, here are 5 that have played, or are still playing post-season college baseball this season.

Kory Kiro, Goffstown, NH, Senior Pitcher, Daniel Webster College. DWC was both regular season and conference tournament champion in the New England Collegiate Conference. Kiro was named NECC Pitcher of the Year and named First-Team All Conference for the 3rd straight season. What is even better, is that DWC has advanced to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. They will travel to Lakewood, NJ to play their Regional.

Ryan Smith, Goffstown, NH, Freshman Pitcher, St. John Fisher College. St. John Fisher finished second in the Empire8 Conference but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Smith saw limited time on the mound, but did impress when he was given a chance to pitch. Smith and St. John Fisher will travel to Marietta, OH to play their Regional.

Jake Glauser, Goffstown, NH, Freshman Outfielder, University of Southern Maine. The USM Huskies also won their regular season title. They made it stand up by coming out of the loser’s bracket from game one to win the Little East Tournament Championship. Glauser was a finalist for Conference Rookie of the Year, and had an outstanding freshman campaign, earning a starting spot and finished the season batting second in the line up. Glauser and the Huskies will travel to Mansfield, CT to play their Regional.

Riley Palmer, Goffstown, NH, Sophomore Infielder, Southern New Hampshire University. The SNHU Penmen didn’t qualify for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, but they were ranked as high as #4 nationally this season. On selection day they earned the top seed, and will host the East Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Palmer was a spot starter in his first season with the SNHU program.

Ryan Beal, Goffstown, NH, Freshman Catcher/DH, Ohlone College (Junior College). The Ohlone College Renegades won the regular season title in the Northern California Coast Pacific Conference. Ohlone won their Regional and advanced to the Super Regional before losing this past weekend. Beal played sparingly behind a third year catcher but did bat cleanup when he played and had a huge RBI in their Regional win. Beal will attend Central Connecticut State University this fall on a baseball scholarship.

St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH. While the Hawks play their games on campus in Goffstown, this years squad does not have a player from Goffstown. St. A’s earned their second ever bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament and will be competing in the East Regional at SNHU.

Goffstown baseball recent achievements for this group:

• Kory Kiro, 2008 NH State Champion Class L (now division I), Goffstown High School
• Ryan Smith, 2010 NH State Champion American Legion Baseball, Goffstown Legion Baseball Club
• Jake Glauser, 2010 NH State Champion American Legion Baseball, Goffstown Legion Baseball Club
• Riley Palmer, 2010 NH State Champion American Legion Baseball, Goffstown Legion Baseball Club
• Ryan Beal, 2010 NH State Champion American Legion Baseball, Goffstown Legion Baseball Club

Thank you for getting through this with me. I know that for most of the world this information means nothing, but here in our world, it means an awful lot. I have simply covered some recent history here. I will add another segment to this in the near future. It will contain some player history and statistics, as baseball is always measured. I remember only so much, have witnessed more than I remember, and research is my friend. We are a small town in a small state. We are nowhere near the baseball belt which I just may have made up, but if there is one it wouldn’t be in the Northeast. There’s a lot of baseball in Goffstown. My hope is to see more Goffstown in baseball going forward.