SOMERSWORTH, N.H. – Two years ago, as 10-year-olds, it took extra innings to separate Salem and Portsmouth for the New Hampshire State Little League title.
Very little seems to have changed.
Saturday morning in the opening game of the best of 3 state finals, Portsmouth dominated early, and Salem rallied late, taking a wild, 5-4, eight-inning victory.
“The game is never over with us, we know baseball is not a timed game and it’s all about outs, and that fight was shown here today,” said Salem manager Steve Quinn. “They made us fight for every run we scored, and that’s a fantastic baseball team.”
The two teams will face off again in Somersworth on Sunday morning at 10. Rowan Briggs takes the mound for Salem, which can advance to next week’s New England Regional in Bristol, Conn. A Portsmouth win would yield a winner-take-all Game three back here on Monday night.
For a large majority of the game, Portsmouth was in control.
Brayden Castillo got the starting nod for Salem, and pitched strong. Castillo went 4 ⅓ innings, and only allowed one hit. Walks, errors, and wild throws were not helpful, as Portsmouth took an early 1-0 lead off of a wild pitch.
Salem had plenty of chances to tie the game up, but Portsmouth’s starter, Jack Spencer, was dealing and got out of each jam.
After Portsmouth added two more runs on a single and an error in the 5th inning, Salem was down to its final three outs, trailing 3-0.
With one out, Spencer then hit Acen Torrens White with a pitch and was then taken out of the game, just ten pitches prior to his limit.
Nate Makiej hit a single to right field, before Mason Wiles walked, loading the bases up for Gavin Griffin with one out.
On a 1-2 count, Griffin hit the triple of his life, over the Portsmouth right fielder’s head, scoring all three runners to tie the score at 3-3.
“I love baseball, I love this team, and I knew we had it in us to keep this thing going,” said Griffin. “I was very nervous at the plate, shaking a lot, but I kept telling myself I can keep this game going.”
Salem was unable to drive Griffin in, and we were sent to extra innings.
Portsmouth scored a run in the top of the seventh, putting Salem on the ropes again. The cleanup hitter, Castillo, had other plans, scoring Matty Barry, and sending it to the eighth.
Little League rules call for a runner on second base to begin the inning during the eighth and beyond, giving Portsmouth a great chance to take the lead once again. Nico Cardinale came into pitch, and struck out the first two batters he saw. Then, Torrens White made an unbelievable diving catch to save a run and end the inning, giving Salem the chance to win it.
An error at third base had runners on second and third with no outs in the inning, before Portsmouth intentionally walked Torrens White to load the bases.
Up to the plate came Wiles, and he ended the game with a line drive single, scoring Caden Scanlon, and sending Salem just one win away from the regionals in Bristol.
“We have a ton of fight, we went through a lot of tough times in this one, but we picked each other up and got past it,” said Wiles. “My heart was pounding at the plate, it was a very stressful moment, but I stayed comfortable, and hit a line drive to finish it for my team.”
“I feel optimistic about tomorrow, but we have to go out and execute,” said Quinn. “We have Rowan tomorrow, and pitching lined up for the next day just in case, so I feel good. We gave up only three hits and played good defense, and if we can do that (Sunday) morning, we will be in a good spot.”