Dover beats Bedford to remain alive

NASHUA – The Bedford Post 54 baseball team lost Tuesday night, and might be in a better situation because of it.

Bedford’s 4-3 loss to Dover Post 8 in the New Hampshire American Legion tournament means that Post 8 will have to play Rochester Post 7 at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The winner of that game will then have to play Bedford at 7 p.m. at Holman Stadium for the title.

A win by Post 54 Tuesday would have meant Bedford and Rochester would have to play Wednesday at 4 p.m., and if Rochester had won, the two teams would have played again at 7.

Instead, Bedford will get to sit back and watch as its opponent has to battle through nine innings of baseball.

“I didn’t tell the team, but the way I was thinking was that we want them to beat up on each other before we have to play them,” Bedford coach Tim Conway said. “This will give us the opportunity to throw everything we have at them.”

And Post 54 will have everything to throw at whoever wins the first game, thanks to Sam McClain’s eight innings on the mound Tuesday. Thanks to that performance, Conway didn’t have to use any of his other pitchers, and all will be well-rested, with Monday’s rainout having given them another day off.

Robert Greenleaf scattered nine hits and two walks while allowing one earned run over seven innings for Dover Tuesday, and Tyler Cash worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the ninth to end the game.

Dover got all of its runs in the fourth inning, as Mike Calabrese and Chris White drove in two runs each in the bottom of the frame after Bedford had gone up 1-0 a half-inning before.

McClain allowed all four runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Tom Hudon and Justin Walsh each had two hits for Post 54, while Mike Skilton, Pat Parker and Matt Woodmansee each scored a run.

Skilton and Joe Maher both walked to open the ninth, but Cash got Parker to pop up before fly outs by Walsh and Hudon ended the inning.