Chase Barrett’s two-run double capped a six-run, seventh-inning rally that enabled Hudson, Mass. to beat the Hampden Quirk Motor City Post 24 Riverdogs 6-5 in their Northeast Regional Senior American Legion baseball opener in Manchester, N.H. on Wednesday morning.
Hampden will now face the loser of the game between South Burlington, Vt. and Portsmouth, N.H. at 9:30 a.m on Thursday in an elimination game.
Hudson, the Massachusetts runnerup, will play Cumberland, R.I. in a winners bracket game on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
The Riverdogs scored three first-inning runs and took a 3-0 lead into the seventh.
TJ Llerena, who had pitched two shutouts in the State American Legion tournament en route to Most Valuable Player honors, had blanked Hudson on one hit through six innings but head coach Frank Peckham pulled the pitcher when he suffered from a bloody nose and was lightheaded.
Chase Donahue and Daniel DeMerjian greeted reliever Collin Peckham with back-to-back doubles to make it 3-1 and Peter Ward walked.
Matthew Gogan sacrificed the runners to second and third and Ryan Dillon was hit by a pitch.
A costly fielding error by the second baseman allowed two runs to score to tie it up.
Following a groundout, Kaysen Wildman, who didn’t pitch in the state tournament due to shoulder tenderness, came on to replace Peckham and issued a run-producing wild pitch before Barrett hit his double.
Just two of the runs were earned.
The Riverdogs put together their own rally in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t push across the tying run.
Andrew Cote walked and, two outs later, rode home on Llerena’s triple.
Wildman followed with a long double but a groundout ended the game.
Hampden took a 3-0 lead in the first on a Cote double, two walks, a wild pitch, a fielder’s choice and a two-run error.
DeMerjian doubled and singled for the winners and Donahue tossed six innings of two-hit, three-run ball with seven walks and four strikeouts. Ryan Graf survived the seventh, allowing two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Llerena tripled and doubled for the Riverdogs and, on the mound, he struck out five and walked two over his six innings of shutout ball.
Peckham said Llerena pitched a great game and the team played flawless ball until the seventh.
“It was a well-played game,” said Peckham. “The guys tried to come back in the bottom of the seventh. I was proud of them.”
He called it a heartbreaking loss.
“But that’s baseball,” said Peckham.
