CONCORD 5, LONDONDERRY 3
NOTE: A story about Concord Post 21 competing under difficult circumstances will appear in the Union Leader later this week.
Concord Post 21 completed an unbeaten run in the American Legion Baseball state tournament and won the Senior Division championship by beating Londonderry Post 27 5-3 Tuesday at Nashua’s Holman Stadium.
Post 21 led 5-3 after six innings, but Londonderry loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh. Post 21 got out of the jam, however, as Londonderry had a runner thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch for the first out. A foul pop up and a ground out to short ended the game. Kyle Martin was on the mound for the game’s final three outs.
Post 21 completed the tournament with a 4-0 record and advanced to the Northeast Regional, which will be held in Shrewsbury, Mass., from Aug. 3-8.
Starting pitcher Cam McGonigle limited Londonderry to three hits in 5.1 innings. McGonigle also added an RBI double that gave Concord a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Post 21 also received an RBI double from Trevor Smith and an RBI single from Ryan Kastle. The two other Post 21 runs scored on an infield error.
The victory came less than 48 hours after Ryan McGonigle, Cam’s uncle, died of a heart attack. Ryan was a three-sport athlete at Concord High School (football, baseball and basketball), a long-time youth coach and a well-known figure in the Concord sports community. Smith is Ryan’s stepson.
Londonderry’s Connor Fennell allowed three earned runs in 5.2 innings. Ben Martin, Adam Wholley and Owen Carey scored for Londonderry.
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