Exeter baseball holds off Bedford late to win D1 championship

MANCHESTER – Kevin McQueen thought the Exeter High School baseball team might need every run it could get against Bedford in Monday’s Division I championship game.

Turned out that the Blue Hawks coach was right.

No. 1 Exeter scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-2 lead, but No. 2 Bedford came back with four runs in the top of the seventh to make it a one-run game.

But with two out and runners on first and second for the Bulldogs, Exeter sophomore Ethan Imbimbo got the only batter he faced to ground into a game-ending fielder’s choice, as the Blue Hawks held on for a 7-6 win at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Exeter (21-0) finishes the season undefeated, winning its first title since 2013.

“They’re a great team, you know it’s not going to be easy,” Exeter Kevin McQueen said. “Even 7-2 into the seventh, you know they’re going to put a bid on, that’s just who they are. They’ve got a heck of a team and a heck of a lineup.

“(The seventh inning) seemed long and it was long. Things weigh on your mind. There’s a lot at stake. You’re doing everything you can to give the team the best chance to win. There’s a lot of things going through your mind. We’re just happy it came out the way it did.”

Exeter got a strong performance from starting pitcher Cody Morissette, who went 6 2/3 innings and was cruising until running out of gas in the seventh. The junior allowed six runs – three earned – on seven hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

“I was just trying to keep it cool,” Morissette said. “Sometimes I like to rush it and that tires me out more. I was gassed (in the seventh). I’d been out there all day battling for my team and they were making plays for me. I ran out of gas at the end. That’s the way it’s been, one guy struggles, another guy steps up.”

Imbimbo got Connor Zendzian to hit a grounder to shortstop Kyle Ball, who beat Geoff Mosseau to second base for the final out.

But through the first six innings, Bedford (19-2) managed just two hits and got two unearned runs in the fourth inning on a wild pitch and an error in right field, when centerfielder Ben Malgeri ran into rightfielder Cam Flanagan on a fly ball that would have ended the inning.

“We were by no means perfect on the defensive side,” McQueen said. “We had to overcome some things. We had a couple of momentum shifts. When they got guys into scoring position after our mistakes, we were able to limit them and that ended up making a difference.”

After getting single runs across in the second and third to take a 2-0 lead, Bedford tied it in the top of the fourth. But after a two-out walk by Ball, back-to-back singles by Morissette and Kyle Maurice gave Exeter a 3-2 lead.

Maruice finished 2 for 3 with an RBI, while Morissette was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and Bobby Cliche had two hits and two RBIs.

Grant Lavigne and Liam Greene each had two hits and an RBI for Bedford, and each helped the Bulldogs bat around in the seventh.

Ryan Lee and Spencer Adams led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and after an out, Cooper Anibal hit a ground ball to third. Sean Lavery tried to go to second, but the throw went into the outfield, and Lee scored.

Lavigne followed with a double that hit off the base of the right field wall, scoring Adams, and after Morissette struck out Connor Collins, Green and Mosseau followed with RBI singles to make it 7-6, ending Morissette’s day.

“When I talk about toughness and just coming through when you need it most, (Morissette) battled,” McQueen said. “First of all, he worked hard to be ready (Monday) on the weekend. He got his work in and that’s the kind of thing. You give him a chance to get the last out and it doesn’t happen, then you turn to Ethan.

“You can’t do any better than to win them all. These guys have found a way all year. In this league, to run through 18 (games) and then three more, I can’t say enough. The mental toughness and to just overcome mistakes, we had a couple in the seventh and overcame them.”