White Mountains, Hopkinton advance
- Updated: June 4, 2019
The matchup for the Division III championship game is set. Defending champion White Mountains, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, will face fourth-seeded Hopkinton on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester.
White Mountains, which beat Somersworth in last year’s Division III championship game, advanced with a 3-2 triumph over second-seeded Gilford at Robbie Mills Park in Laconia. Hopkinton, which competed in Division IV last season, moved on with a 4-2 triumph over top-seeded Belmont in Monday’s other semifinal at Robbie Mills Park.
White Mountains 3, Gilford 2
Left-handed pitcher Griffin Crane struck out nine batters and didn’t allow Gilford to collect a hit until there were two outs in the fifth inning. Gilford scored twice in the seventh and had the tying run on second base when Crane recorded the game’s final out via a strikeout.
White Mountains scored all three of its runs against University of Connecticut-bound pitcher Adrian Siravo. The Spartans scored twice in the third inning and once in the fourth.
Crane also scored the game’s first run when he tripled and came home on Braxton Brown’s single. Tyler Hicks, who reached base via a bunt single, made it 2-0 when he scored on a wild pitch.
White Mountains increased the lead to 3-0 when Connor Bosse walked, reached second on a passed ball, moved to third on a bunt and scored on a wild pitch.
Siravo limited White Mountains to four hits and struck out 13.
Hopkinton 4, Belmont 2
Junior Sam Crawford tossed a complete game and held Belmont to seven hits to help the Hawks reach the championship game. It was his third victory in five days (one in relief).
Caleb Yianakopolos collected three of Hopkinton’s either hits. The Hawks scored on a wild pitch, a fielder’s choice and an RBI single by Larson Burack.
Griffin Embree had three hits for Belmont, which beat Hopkinton 6-1 during the regular season.
Saturday’s game will be the second time White Mountains and Hopkinton have met this season. The Hawks prevailed 2-0 in April in a game played in Cooperstown, N.Y.
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