Written by Goffstown Grizzlies Baseball dropped a pair of games to begin their week. At Exeter, on Wednesday the Grizzlies were shut out 3-0 against the Blue Hawks. Then, at Allard Park against Winnacunnet, Goffstown fell 4-3 in a battle on Thursday.
On a sunny afternoon in Exeter, Goffstown lost 3-0 to the Exeter Blue Hawks. Connor Hujsak pitched very well at Exeter but the Grizzlies made baserunning mistakes and couldn’t muster any offense to support the pitching staff. Hujsak pitched 5 innings, striking out 12 and walking just one batter. He allowed 4 hits and only one earned run, while 2 more runs scored on passed balls. Will Soucy and Hujsak had the only hits for Goffstown in the game. The Grizzlies left runners at 2nd and 3rd in the first inning, and never got any closer to scoring. Exeter got great pitching from Ethan Imbimbo (3 IP, 4K, 1H) and lefty Colin Jackson (4IP, 6K, 1H). Nolan Elmore had a single, an RBI double, and scored a run for the Blue Hawks. Goffstown ran into an out on the bases in the 3rd inning when Connor Hujsak took off from second base on a soft line drive by Bob Doherty that second baseman, Alec Lawry snagged and then easily doubled off Hujsak. Then in the 6th, after Clay Campbell earned a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, he inexplicably ran on a Sebastian Beal ground ball to deep short and was easily tagged out at 3rd base. With Beal getting down the line, the long throw would have been close if not late. Exeter improved to 4-1, while Goffstown fell to 0-2.
Then, one day later, on a cool, raw, overcast afternoon, Goffstown played host to the Winnacunnet Warriors at Allard Park in Goffstown. Both teams entered play with 0-2 records and looking for their first win. Clay Campbell started on the hill for Goffstown against Winnacunnet and Brady Annis. Campbell pitched well in the loss, going 6 innings, striking out 9, while walking 3, and hitting 2 batters. He allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (1 earned). Brady Annis was no slouch himself, pitching 5 1/3 innings with 7 K’s, 4 walks, 4 hits, and one earned run. Jake Bullard who led off for the Warriors, scored 2 runs and got the final 5 outs on the mound out of the bullpen, 4 of them on strikeouts. Winnacunnet was led by Hayes Waddell who had an RBI double, a single, and 2 walks, while scoring 2 runs in the win. Myles Green had a pretty good day on both sides of the ball in the loss. He had an RBI double, a single, and a walk. In the top of the 6th inning, Green handled 3 straight ground balls at 3rd base, all difficult plays, recording 3 assists across the diamond to Colin Burke at 1st base. Connor Hujsak was on base 3 times with a pair of singles and a walk, but he was caught stealing once and picked off first base another time. In the 4th inning Warrior shortstop, Frank Chase, who had a dismal day at the plate with 4 K’s, made a spectacular play at shortstop. He went to his right sliding on his knees to make a great backhand stab and fired a strike to Hunter Chase at second base who turned the double play with a strong throw to Joe Allen at first base. Chase to Chase to Allen, 6-4-3 DP. Goffstown left the bases loaded in the 6th inning and left the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the 7th. Winnacunnet earned their first win of the season while the Grizzlies dropped to 0-3. Goffstown plays at Manchester Central (Gill Stadium) who enters the game at 0-4.