Newmarket stings Claremont with strong finish

BARRINGTON — The Newmarket All-Stars started slow, but once they had their hitting shoes properly laced, the finish was more to their liking.

Newmarket banged out 16 hits en route to an 8-3 win over Claremont in the opening round of the Cal Ripken 12-year-old (60-foot base paths) state baseball tournament in Barrington. 

Newmarket broke a 3-all tie in the fourth on Stephen J. Coffey's two-run home run that hugged the foul pole in left field. That made the lead 5-3 and Newmarket never looked back.

"It was high and in and I just wanted to drive it as hard as I could," said Coffey. "Luckily it went over the wall."

There was a pins-and-needles moment in the fifth when Claremont (0-1) loaded the base with no outs. Coffey, however, was able to bear down and whiff the next three batters to end the frame. Claremont went in order in the sixth against Newmarket reliever Hayden Goodreau.

Newmarket, the District 7 champion, returns to action Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) in the winner's bracket against Suncook Valley, a 5-1 winner over Great North Woods. Claremont falls into the loser's bracket and will play Monday vs. Great North Woods.

The fifth inning was the pivotal point in the game. Newmarket was leading, 6-3, but the first three Claremont batters reached, two on errors and one on a walk, and suddenly there was a situation. Coffey whiffed the 4-5-6 batters.

"I just tried to pitch outside on some of the bigger kids, to get them to swing off-balanced." Coffey said. "I just tried to do that the whole time. It worked out."

"That was the game," said Claremont coach Bill Bundy. "Just put the ball in play. Don't need a home run. Just put the ball in play and I think we have a great game. That changes the game. We're much better than what you saw tonight. I will say that. You've got to put the ball in play. You can't have strikeouts."

Newmarket added two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth on a Coffey double, an error and a two-run single to center by Andrew Benson to make it 8-3.

Coffey went 3 for 3 with two runs and the two-run homer, while Goodreau was 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI to pace Newmarket, which had at least one hit in every inning. Adding two hits each were Benson (run, 2 RBIs), Gabe LaBranche (run, RBI) and Mitchell Tilton.

"We were a little tentative the first couple of innings," said Newmarket coach Stephen T. Coffey. "I don't know if we were tight or I don't know what it was, but it took us a little while to settle in. But we did swing the bats later in the game. "

Coffey went six innings allowing three Claremont runs on six hits with 12 whiffs. He walked one.

Claremont took a 1-0 lead in the first. Phin Allen doubled to right, moved to third on Gabe Miller's single and scored on Owen Taylor's groundout.

Newmarket tied it up in the second. LaBranche walked and later scored on Goodreau's infield single.

Newmarket went up 3-1 in the third with two runs. One scored on an error and the second on LaBranche's base hit.

Claremont tied it up 3-3 in the bottom of the inning on Bryce Weymouth's hard two-out, two-run single past first base.

Claremont, which started just two 12 year olds, did not get a hit over the final three innings. Miller had two of his team's six hits.

Dylan Chambers started for Claremont and Allen came in and pitched the final three innings.

Newmarket advanced to the states by winning District 7 with a 3-1 record. All four games were decided by one run, according to coach Coffey.