Late rally lifts Hudson Post 48 past Exeter Post 32

HUDSON – There was no panic in the Hudson Post 48 baseball team Friday when Exeter Post 32 rallied to the game in the top of the seventh inning.

In fact, the big inning for Exeter seemed to light a fire under Hudson.

Post 48 responded with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, as the first five batters of the inning reached base, and pitcher Ryan Glendye escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth to preserve a 7-3 win at Alvirne High School.

The win moves Hudson to 8-5 a further secures its spot in third place in the American Legion Senior District B standings; the top four teams make the state tournament, which begins on July 24. Exeter falls to 4-8.

“We’re a very emotional team, so when another team gets going like that, it gets us fired up,” Hudson coach Scott Szuksta said. “We usually respond pretty well. We have a lot of good chemistry and leaders on the team.”

One of those is Glendye, who pitched five innings in relief of starter Chris Murphy, and got the win while allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Glendye retired seven of the first batters he faced and despite giving up three singles in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate, he struck out Exeter’s Ryan Mundy looking to end the game.

“He’s a bulldog,” Szuksta said of Glendye. “He wants the ball every game and he tells us literally every game that he wants to throw. (Thursday) he told me his arm was sore because he threw on Wednesday, but in the last inning, we had a man on and we’re up by a couple and he’s in my ear, ‘let me get the last out.’ He’s wonderful. It’s great to have kids like that.”

Connor Whittemore was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Kellin Bail (two hits) drove in a run and scored another and Kyle Shaw and Dakota Williams had run-scoring singles.

Luis Matrille also had two runs scored for Post 48, including the team’s first run, which came in the bottom of the second without the benefit of a hit.

After Matrille drew a one-out walk, he moved to second on a groundout by Bail. With Whittemore at the plate, Matrille stole third and scored when the throw by Exeter catcher Ty Mezquita sailed into left field.

Post 32 tied it in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Colin Graham, but Hudson manufactured another run in the fifth. Jim Sullivan led off with a single, reached second when a pickoff throw hit him in the back and caromed into center field, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shaw.

Williams made it 3-1 with an RBI single in the sixth, but a two-run single by Mezquita in the seventh off Glendye tied the game at 3.

But Hudson answered right back, as Dan Brown reached base on an error to lead off the seventh and Shaw and Matrille followed with perfectly placed bunt singles to load the bases. Bail and Whittemore followed with run-scoring hits off Exeter’s Henrik Barbin.

“We like to try to be creative and score runs through bunting and small-ball stuff,” Szuksta said. “I’m lucky that I pull from schools that have excellent coaches. I feel like when we go against other teams we have an advantage. I have a leg up because of how prepared my kids are for situations.”

Exeter got a solid start from Christian Devine, who didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, and gave up three runs – two earned – on five hits and two walks while striking out six. But the Post 32 pitcher also plays for the Seacoast Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League,and is scheduled to start for them on Monday.

“I would have kept him in the game, but he has to pitch Monday for the Mavericks,” Exeter Dana Barbin said. “I thought he mixed his pitches real well and his curveball kept them off balance real well. He throws pretty hard.”

Hudson will try to take a step closer to its first tournament berth since 2010 Sunday when Post 48 heads to the seacoast to play Portsmouth. Exeter hosts Nashua on Monday.