Written by The temperature finally hit the half-century mark, but the cold breeze kept it feeling like it was in the mid-’40s at best. Somehow though, both teams came out pounding the baseball all over the yard. In the end, the Astros, who scored runs in five of their six offensive innings, controlled the game and won 13-6. The Astros jumped on the visiting Grizzlies in the first inning. After Goffstown stranded 2 baserunners (Campbell hit by a pitch, Doherty single) in the top of the first, Pinkerton plated 4 runs in the bottom of the inning. Asa Runge walked to start the inning and was erased on a fielder’s choice when Connor Jenkins bounced to the mound. Then Brady Day singled, Richard Marique doubled, and Kameron Levesque also doubled. Jenkins, Day, and Marique each scored on the hits, and then Levesque scored when Nate Bonacorsi dropped a routine fly ball in right field which would have ended the inning. The Astros went down 1-2-3 in the second, the only inning that they did not score in.
Goffstown pushed across their first run in the 3rd inning when Clay Campbell absolutely demolished a two-out triple that landed somewhere near the Shaw’s parking lot. Bob Doherty laced an RBI-single to left field to score Campbell. As it happened all day, the Astros answered. Pinkerton scored two runs in the 3rd to jump out to a 6-1 lead. Day led off with a single. Marique lined out to Sebastian Beal at third base, but Beal’s throw across the infield to Colin Burke bounced past the lanky first baseman and went out of play. Day went to 3rd base on the error and scored on a wild pitch en route to Frank Gulezian striking out. Then with 2 outs and nobody on base, Levesque singled and Matt Michaud crushed a double to right-center scoring Levesque.
In the fourth inning, the Grizzlies came storming back with leadoff singles from Jared Heidenreich and Sebastian Beal. Ben Dodge reached on an infield single to load the bases. Liam Kilbreth singled to right field knocking in a run, and then Connor Hujsak hit a rocket to left-center for 2-RBI single. Hujsak stole second and Jagger Bell’s throw to second base went into centerfield which allowed Kilbreth to score and Hujsak to go to third. Derek Hiscox then made the best pitches he made all afternoon, getting Clay Campbell and Bob Doherty on strikeouts with filthy breaking balls. Pinkerton finished the inning by getting three runs and led 9-5 after four innings. What made the Astros runs so devastating were the fact that they came with two outs and nobody on, and also after Goffstown had just clawed back into the game, trailing 6-5. Myles Green got Jacob McGill on a shallow fly ball to left field. Then, leadoff man, Asa Runge hit a monster fly ball to the left-field corner. Bob Doherty ran the ball down somewhere just shy of the traffic circle and there were 2 outs with nobody on base. Connor Jenkins started the mess with a walk. Then Brady Day singled for the third time. Marique blasted another double to right-center. Frank Gulezian hit a 400-foot double to the fence in left-center and the lead was four again.
Goffstown tried another comeback when Heidenreich singled and moved to second on Beal’s grounder to the right side. After a wild pitch allowed the baserunner to third, Myles Green roped an RBI single to right center. Ben Dodge bounced a grounder right at the second base bag on the first pitch and Green was forced out to end the threat. Pinkerton scored three more times in the fifth without a hit. Four walks, an error on Goffstown, and a sacrifice fly accounted for the runs giving the home team a 12-6 lead.
With one out in the sixth inning, Connor Hujsak hit an absolute laser of a line drive to center field that looked like it would dent the fence if allowed to finish its flight. Then, the speedy Kameron Levesque stabbed the line drive for an outstanding catch and the second out of the inning. Given the fact that Campbell followed with a single, then Doherty and Soucy both walked, it turned out to be an even bigger catch as the Grizzlies left the bases loaded. Pinkerton pushed across one more run in the sixth after Levesque walked and stole second base. Matt Michaud singled to center scoring Levesque.
Lefty Doyle set the Grizzlies down in order in the seventh, getting a pair of K’s along the way. Both teams ripped 11 hits but Pinkerton did a better job getting their runners around the bases and made key plays when they needed them on defense. Derek Hiscox pitched 6 innings on 98 pitches. He allowed 11 hits and struck out 5 batters. For Goffstown, Myles Green got hit hard, pitching 4+ innings, allowing 9 hits, and issuing 3 walks with 2 strikeouts.
Pinkerton improved to 5-2 on the season, while Goffstown fell to 2-5. The Grizzlies play host to Portsmouth tomorrow afternoon at 5 pm from Lion’s Field.