D2 Baseball Playoffs

I don't see much D2 baseball talk on this site, mostly D1, except for Portsmouth's amazing accomplishment. But I've been reading this site for a little while, and I thought I'd see if anyone else wants to talk D2 baseball. So I registered and figured I'd open the topic for D2 playoffs and see who's out there.

I guess instead of asking who will win it this year, the question should be who CAN knock Portsmouth off. 79 wins in a row! I still can't wrap my head around it. Don't they ever have a bad day?

I do think three teams that have the potential to win it (besides Portsmouth) are Goffstown, Bedford, and St. Thomas.

Goffstown has won 12 in a row going into the playoffs, including Hanover, Bedford, Hollis-Brookline, and Londonderry. Tip of the hat to first year head coach Eddie Coulombe for turning it around so quickly after a 2-3 start.

Portsmouth beat Joey Maher in the ship last year, and again this year a few weeks ago, but if Joey can throw another gem like he did against Souhegan the last week of the season, he can beat anyone. I've never seen him throw THAT good. Souhegan has some good hitters on that team, and they were all late on his fastball. 12 Ks in a 5 inning mercy rule game. The other 3 outs were a ground ball to the catcher, a ground ball to second, and a foul ball down the right field line. He was on that day. I can't verify it, but I heard he was throwing 89 - 90 MPH consistently, hit 92 several times, and even hit 93 a couple times. And for strikes! Again, I wasn't watching the gun, but I was sitting behind the screen and I knew he had something special going that day.

St. Thomas is a 7 seed, but with Jordan Bean on the bump, they can beat anyone, even Portsmouth. If Bean can keep the score low, then Mucher, Bean, and the other guys should be able to plate enough runs.

No disrespect to Hanover. I just haven't seen them play this year. Or Lebanon. I don't think Hollis-Brookline has enough depth to beat Portsmouth, but that's why you play the game. Anything can happen. Oyster River took Portsmouth into extra innings last week before losing 3-2. I'm willing to bet before I die Portsmouth's streak will come to an end.

Wish you had been posting all season. Division 2 talk always welcome. I hear Bedford has 2 kids who can bring it.

Welcome! Hopefully a few other lurkers will post too. The more the merrier as long as we keep it all civil (I think that's what amazes the Assistant the most!). As much testosterone that flows thru baseball dads, we all seem to be able to get along; whereas, basketball dads seem to get down and dirty much quicker!

I don't follow D2 that closely other than read about the accomplishments of local (Southern NH) teams. I like that Bedford group of kids - they've got a bunch of good players. Obviously Portsmouth is and will be at the top of the division - just too much going for them between feeder programs and a coaching staff that gets the best out of them. Then there's Goffstown - they are on a roll right now. However, if they get past the first round they probably do run into Bean pitching. Of course, that assumes Oyster River doesn't sneak by. That's one of those games where you wonder if a coach will roll the dice with #2 hoping to get to the next game.

Correct. Joey Maher and Lucas Olen are quality pitchers. Joey got a scholarship to Northeastern next year, and Lucas SNHU. Joey gets all the press, with MLB scouts at every game, but Lucas is also very good. His mechanics are so smooth. Good velocity and movement on his fastball, a better than average curve ball, and he added a slider this year which is just baffling opposing hitters. We're going to miss these 2 guys next year.

There are 24 teams in D2, you only hear about the Portsmouth, Bedford, Goffstown, (which should have stayed in D1), There are a a bunch of quality teams in the division. I look to see a few upsets this week. Bewteen the 5th and 15th seed there is less than one point in the ratings.

I think you need to watch out for Lebanon in the lower bracket, which on its face value looks like the easier bracket, with Hanover, Goffstown, and St. Thomas, St. Thomas will met Lebanon in the semi's there.

The upper is much more difficult. Portsmouth, Bedford, and the team no one talks about Kennett from up north. Watch out for Kennett, they have been on a roll as of late and they have pitching and hitting, at times there defense gets them in trouble. I am going to make a crazy call, Sanborn upsetting Portsmouth first round, Portsmouth not going to throw #1 and never catch up.

Other opinions?

Congrats, fivehole, for being willing to stick your neck out and pick Sanborn over Portsmouth. You realize if that happens there's going to be a line of people at your door for predictions on stocks and lottery numbers, starting with me! You also mention to watch out for Kennett, who beat Laconia twice and St. Thomas in their last 3 games. So I'm guessing you don't think Portsmouth will make it to the final 4, since they'll need to get by Sanborn and the Kennett v Laconia winner to get there. I guess we'll know by Saturday.

I agree there are many quality teams in D2, not just the few you hear about all the time. I think its because due to geographic reasons and numbers of teams every team in D2 doesn't play every other team, so we don't get to know them all. I came right and admitted I didn't know enough about Lebanon and Hanover this year, since I hadn't seen them or read much about them. But I was impressed with St. Thomas, Laconia, Hollis-Brookline, Sanborn, and Pelham, just to name a few. And like you said, HB is the 5 seed at 10-6 while Pelham is the 15 seed at 8-8. Any one of those teams can beat any other on any given day. In fact, Sanborn is the only team in the tournament with a sub 500 record, and that is 7-9. Same thing for them.

It should be fun. Can't wait until Thursday.

There are teams that CAN beat Portsmouth if the stars align for them. I would put Bedford up there as the best bet…IF Maher pitches a phenomenal game.

The thing everyone has to realize is that the kids wearing the Clipper uniforms are used to all this. They have all been playing for championships since they were 9 years old. Add to that the pressure of this streak and the games this year against STA, Sanborn & Oyster River where they were pushed to the edge and you have a group that truly understands how win. There is no substitute for the experience they have. Only an incredible effort on the mound is going to beat them.

As far as Bean beating Portsmouth, you have to remember He plays with the Portsmouth kids in American Legion for Booma Post 6 and was teammates with them up until he went to STA. They are very familiar with him and how he throws.

Also, STA has a history of under-performing in the post season. They won it all in 04 and then lost in the first round four straight years – 3 of those were at home. Then in ’09, they got to the title game and the “Decision” to pitch to Mike Montville cost them the championship. Then last year they were seeded #2 for the second straight season and they had an 8-0 lead against Maher in the quarter-finals and blew that game.

This year they have been all over the map. They were mercy-ruled by Coe-Brown, played a great game in the 1st Portsmouth game and finished the year losing 3 of the last 4 including a home loss to a 3-14 Windham squad.

I would not be at all surprised to see OR upset STA in the opening round.

I agree there should be some great games to watch, but in the end its hard to see anyone celebrating with the title besides Portsmouth.

This site is fun to read what people around the state think, but the tournament is going to come down to what ever team is hot, and who is pitching well with the right comb's against their oppenants. It's just fun to watch the kids play. Sometimes it would be alot easier if the adults stayed out of it. Good luck to all.

JAF wrote:Welcome! Hopefully a few other lurkers will post too. The more the merrier as long as we keep it all civil (I think that's what amazes the Assistant the most!). As much testosterone that flows thru baseball dads, we all seem to be able to get along; whereas, basketball dads seem to get down and dirty much quicker!

Sure does make my "job" a lot easier. So much more fun to read knowledgeable assessments of the games than bantering back and forth about officials and what not. The Baseball talk has been a very pleasant surprise here. Check out what I tweeted in March...and look where we are today

http://twitter.com/#!/nhsportsforum/status/51271112058880000

Two upsets in the first round today in D2. #14 Conval over #3 Hanover 7-4. and #11 Coe-Brown over #5 Hollis-Brookline 7-6. I'd love to hear about those 2 games.

Second round sets up a match up between #2 Goffstown and #7 St. Thomas. I wonder who pitched for St. Thomas today. They beat Oyster River 11-1. If Bean didn't pitch, it should be a great game at Goffstown.

I was at my son's game, obviously. Bedford beat Merrimack Valley 10-7. It wasn't over until the last out. MV's Travis Landry gave up 4 runs in the first inning but then settled down nicely. Joey Maher wasn't as sharp as usual, but its all good when you don't have your best stuff and you still come out with a win, especially in a single elimination tournament.

BHS Bulldog Dad wrote:Two upsets in the first round today in D2. #14 Conval over #3 Hanover 7-4. and #11 Coe-Brown over #5 Hollis-Brookline 7-6. I'd love to hear about those 2 games.

Second round sets up a match up between #2 Goffstown and #7 St. Thomas. I wonder who pitched for St. Thomas today. They beat Oyster River 11-1. If Bean didn't pitch, it should be a great game at Goffstown.

I was at my son's game, obviously. Bedford beat Merrimack Valley 10-7. It wasn't over until the last out. MV's Travis Landry gave up 4 runs in the first inning but then settled down nicely. Joey Maher wasn't as sharp as usual, but its all good when you don't have your best stuff and you still come out with a win, especially in a single elimination tournament.

Agree - Goff v STA going to be a good one. Bean pitched four innings in the victory over Oyster Riv (mercy ruled). May see the mound for a few innings if needed I'd say considering low pitch count.

Bedford didn't play Coe-Brown in the reg season???? Scheduling of NHIAA odd sometimes. Wish there wasn't just one house between mine and the Bedford border, I'd move the fence and annex my son into the Bedford school program... You guys just had to go and build yourself a new high school ;-) Hope to see the rematch of Bedford v Portsmouth again at Merchants. Good luck today... keep us posted... I like the DII updates.

Sidenote... kind of suprised Souhegan collapsed at the end of the season... tiebreakers killed them. Would have been interesting to see Dugdale in the one and done tournament.

Am I reading NHIAA.org correctly and Bedford beat Coe-Brown? My wife was getting text updates on the game from a fellow Bedford teacher and she said Bedford was losing BIG but NHIAA has Bedford winning 8-7! If that's true, love to hear the details...

If so... assuming Portsmouth takes care of business... Bedford v Portsmouth up next (just realized brackets of DII didn't set up for possible championship at Delta)...

Yes, SAWit, it is true. Most exciting come from behind victory you can have in a single elimination tournament. Coe-Brown went up 4-0 in the first and 5-0 in the second. Bedford got one back in the third on Zach Husband's base hit with the bases loaded, but then the lefty sophomore for Coe-Brown got the 3-4-5 hitters in order to leave the bases loaded. Great job by him, although I didn't get his name. Bedford got another run in the 4th to make it 5-2, but Coe-Brown came back with 2 more in their half of the 5th to make it 7-2. Bedford sophom0re Andy Lalonde hit a two strike pitch over the fence in right center field for a 3 run homer to make it 7-5 in the bottom of the 5th. In the bottom of the 6th Nate Harrington leads off with a double, Mike Skilton executes a sec bunt to move him to third (still down 2 runs 7-5), and Zach Husband hits a sac fly to make it 7-6. In the bottom of the 7th Ryan Gancarz gets a one out single and with 2 outs, a 2-2 count, senior catcher Justin Walsh fouls off a couple pitches and then hits a walk off 2 run homer to straight away center for his first ever high school home run! AMAZING!

A big shout out to the Coe Brown team. They are very good. I felt bad for them, but they have nothing to hang their heads about. They played hard, came out swinging, and played a great game.

So the final 4 is set for D2.
#1 Portsmouth v #4 Bedford.
#6 Lebanon v #7 St. Thomas

I don't know much about Lebanon this year. I know they lost Jake Woodward to graduation. And I know St. Thomas is very tough with Jordan Bean on the mound. So I'm going to take St. Thomas.

Portsmouth against Bedford. Keegan Taylor against Joey Maher. Let's see ... Portsmouth has to lose some time, don't they? Sooner or later they have to have an off day, don't they? But my daddy told me never to bet against a streak. To hell with it. My son plays for Bedford. Bedford 2, Portsmouth 1.

OK, I have to reply because in most of the posts I have read many of you say that you do not know anything about Lebanon. Most of you are picking St. Thomas to beat them because they have Jordan Bean (who is a great baseball player/pitcher) but since you say you know nothing about Lebanon how can you make that assumption? Lebanon is filled with a group of talented Juniors. They are a determined group of players who you can not underestimate. Yes they lost Jake Woodward to graduation last year so everyone thought they had no shot at even making the playoffs this year but they have proven themselves, finished the season in 6th place and are again in the Semi Finals. I have watched Lebanon play some great games and some bad games but in the end they have pulled together as a group and have been playing some great baseball and I believe they can beat any team on any given day.

Sorry Baseballfan3. I think I'm the only one here making predictions about STA v Lebanon, and I've been quite up front about saying that I haven't seen Lebanon or heard much about them. I've been asking for thoughts about them. Honestly, no disrespect meant. I agree, they finished 10-6, a 6 seed based on a tie breaker with the 5 seed, and they're in the final 4, for at least the second year in a row. I agree that all 4 teams left standing have earned their spot, and anyone can win on any given day. You say they've had some good games and some bad games. I think the same can be said of STA. So I guess this match up can go either way.

Again, no disrespect meant. Its fair to say my picking STA was just a guess based on being familiar with several of the STA players and seeing STA play Portsmouth earlier this year and being impressed with them. I'd love to hear more about Lebanon. Who are these talented juniors? How many seniors and juniors are in the starting lineup? Who are the main pitchers? Who made all state from Lebanon?

Glad to see you joining in on the discussion. Looking forward to hearing more about Lebanon from you and others. And good luck to Lebanon this week against STA.

BHS Bulldog Dad no disrespect taken at all. I also mean no disrespect to STA, they are a great baseball team. I just wanted people to know that Lebanon is a great team as well and that they do have some really good players. Their #1 and #2 pitchers are both juniors and they both have had great seasons. They had 2 Juniors and 1 senior named to All-State this year and have 6 juniors and 3 seniors in the lineup (1 freshman plays outfield when the #1 pitcher is on the mound). This game is going to come down to which team makes the least amount of errors and performs at the plate. It is going to be a great game!

NHIAA has announced the scheduling update due to graduation conflicts. Both games still at Concord Memorial Field.

Bedford v Portsmouth Thursday 3:30
Lebanon v St. Thomas Friday 4:00

Good luck to all and hopefully two well played games.

I love the fact it's now more challenging to make the Portsmouth - Bedford game with moving the game time up to 3:30. Hopefully, the NH state troopers won't be giving away too many speeding tickets to Bulldog and Clipper parents and fans rushing to get to Memorial Field on time.

T&F, you're not the only one scratching your head on that one. Maybe there's some kind of event at Portsmouth or Bedford Thursday night. I know Bedford has a seniors awards ceremony Thursday at 7:00. Maybe Portsmouth has a rehearsal or something. All I know is its going to effect fan turnout at the game. BHS dismissal is at 2:55. There's no way students can safely get to the game for 3:30. I assume it will be a challenge for Portsmouth also taking Rt. 4. Not to mention parents leaving work early. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that one of the ADs requested the early start.

Heat will be a factor for this game. Forecast calls for high of 98 degrees on Thursday. The "feels like" at 3:30 pm will be over 100 degrees. That will be brutal for both teams. It should be interesting to see how the heat plays a part for the pitchers for both clubs.

Due to heat, Portsmouth v Bedford has been postponed until Sunday 1:00 at Concord Memorial Field

That's a solid decision by NHIAA, ADs and coaches. I was outside yesterday around 3:30 when the temp was around 95. I was thinking how could it even be possible or safe to play the Port - Bed game on Thursday when it will be a couple of degrees warmer. Solid decision and the right decision.

Do we know if the D1 game is being treated the same?

I'll answer my own question...NHIAA Bracket now shows Salem vs Concord on Monday at 4:00pm.