Look ahead: NHIAA championship games

NHIAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Saturday
Delta Dental Stadium, Manchester
Division IV
No. 5 Newmarket (17-2) vs. No. 3 Littleton (17-2), 10 a.m.
Newmarket is no stranger to the Division IV championship game. The Mules lost to Littleton in the 2018 Division IV final, won the championship in 2019 and 2021, and lost to Sunapee in last year’s Division IV final. No title games were played in 2020. … Littleton is seeking its first Division IV title since it beat Newmarket in the 2018 championship game. … Newmarket and Littleton did not meet during the regular season. … Newmarket, which has won 13 in a row, played its way into the Division IV final by beating 12th-seeded Groveton 16-3, fourth-seeded Derryfield 4-3 and top-seeded Gorham, 4-3. … Littleton has not lost to a Division IV opponents this season. Both of the team’s losses came against White Mountains, which will play in this year’s Division III championship game. … Littleton reached the championship game with victories over 14th-seeded Lin-Wood, 15-2; 11th-seeded Mascenic, 16-1; and second-seeded Sunapee, 11-4.
Division III
No. 3 White Mountains (17-2) vs. No. 1 Monadnock (18-0), 1 p.m.
White Mountains is seeking its first title since 2019, when it defeated Hopkinton 7-3 in the Division III championship game. … The Spartans beat second-seeded Bishop Brady 4-0 in the semifinals. Karter Deming started and went four innings in that victory. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out five. Rob Breault allowed one hit in three innings of scoreless relief. Both Deming and Breault are eligible to pitch Saturday. … Monadnock will be trying to win its third straight Division III championship. The Monadnock program owns a 43-game winning streak. … The Huskies have the Division III Player of the Year in Cam Olivo and the Division III Pitcher of the Year in Ben Dean. Olivo hit a solo home run in his team’s 4-1 triumph over Campbell in the semifinals. He also limited Campbell to one hit in five innings and struck out eight. Olivo threw 63 pitches.
Division II
No. 8 Plymouth (12-7) vs. No. 2 Hollis-Brookline (15-3), 4 p.m.
If there’s a Cinderella team remaining in NHIAA baseball it’s Plymouth, which ended the regular season with five straight losses. The Bobcats beat ninth-seeded Coe-Brown 4-0 in the preliminary round, knocked off top-seeded Hanover 8-6 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the championship game with an 8-7 victory over fourth-seeded Kingswood. … Hollis-Brookline will be attempting to win back-to-back Division II championships. The Cavaliers defeated St. Thomas in last year’s championship game, and also beat the third-seeded Saints 9-3 in Thursday’s semifinals. Catcher Alex Razzaboni had two hits and four RBIs in that win. Razzaboni was selected as the Division II Player of the Year. … The Cavaliers and Bobcats did not meet during the regular season. … Karma may be with the Bobcats, who are no doubt playing for former coach Tom Underwood, who died earlier this year. Underwood coached Plymouth for 43 years, and his teams posted a 518-257 record and won six state championships.
Division I
No. 4 Pinkerton (19-4) vs. No. 1 Londonderry (21-1), 7 p.m.
These programs also met in last year’s Division I championship game. Pinkerton won that matchup, 2-0. … Londonderry was the only Division I team that received a preliminary-round bye. The Lancers needed nine innings to beat eighth-seeded Bedford 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and then knocked off fourth-seeded Goffstown 8-4 in Thursday’s semifinals. Londonderry battled back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits in that win. … Pinkerton advanced by beating 14th-seeded Windham 3-0 in the preliminary round; sixth-seeded Portsmouth 10-2 in the quarterfinals; and seventh-seeded Concord 3-0 in the semifinals. … Pinkerton’s Garrett Hammer has pitched 14 scoreless innings in the tournament, but is not eligible to pitch Saturday. Leo Boucher tossed six innings of no-hit relief in Pinkerton’s victory over Portsmouth. … Connor Fennell, who pitched all nine innings when Londonderry defeated Bedford in the quarterfinals, is Londonderry’s likely starter. Michael Crowley and Kevin Rourke pitched in the semifinal win and are also available. … Londonderry coach Brent Demas can return to the dugout for this game after serving a two-game suspension for being ejected from Londonderry final regular season game. … Londonderry’s last Division I title came in 2019, when it beat Bedford 1-0 in the championship game. … Fennell tossed a complete game to help Londonderry beat Pinkerton 3-2 during the regular season. He limited the Astros to seven hits. The Lancers did all of their scoring in the first inning. Hammer (six innings) and Casey Watson (one inning), tossed six scoreless innings after that.
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