MacKenzie’s defensive gem gave Souhegan baseball a boost

When the ball left Mike Servant’s bat, it seemed certain that the Lebanon High School baseball team would be scoring its first run of the game.

The Raiders trailed Souhegan 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning last Wednesday, but Grayson Hardy led off the inning with a double and went to third base when Connor Greeley reached on an error.

Then came Servant’s fly ball to right field off Souhegan starter Seth Learned. It went high enough for Hardy to get back to third and prepare to race home, but it also let right fielder Chandler MacKenzie get under the ball.

When the ball was caught, Hardy took off, and the Souhegan coaches shouted for MacKenzie to hit the cutoff man, first baseman Connor Cinque.

“I was the cutoff guy,” Cinque said. “Coach told me to cut four, and I saw (MacKenzie) gun it.”

The right fielder fired the ball well over Cinque’s head, and at first, it looked like it might go over everyone.

“At first, I was thinking he sailed the cutoff, but then I saw it was going right on line,” Souhegan left fielder Andrew MacDonald said.

“I was thinking ‘get up the line’ but it was pretty much right on the plate,” said Lebanon coach Doug Ashey, who was coaching third. “It was a do-or-die throw and he made it.”

The ball was high enough that Souhegan catcher Cam Crook had to reach for it, but he had more than enough time to tag out Hardy as he tried to slide around to the right. The next batter flied out, the Sabers got out of the inning unscathed and Souhegan went on to win 8-3.

“That’s what I live for,” MacKenzie said of the throw. “They told me to hit the cutoff, but I kind of ignored them. I thought it had a shot, I had a good gut feeling.”

Souhegan is off until Wednesday, when the Sabers head to Keyes Field to face Milford.