Milford Post 23 baseball comes back to beat Sweeney Post 2

MANCHESTER – There is no shortage of experience for the Milford Post 23 baseball team.

With 11 players were named to an all-state team during the high school season, there isn’t been much each member of the Post 23 roster hasn’t seen at some point.

Perhaps that’s what has helped Milford find ways to rally in games over and over again all season, like Post 23 did Tuesday night in a 7-5 win over Sweeney Post 2. Milford came back from two, one-run deficits and broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth inning in a battle of District A’s top teams at Gill Stadium.

Both teams have already clinched a spot in the state senior tournament, which begins on July 22.

“We have a lot of older players on this team,” Milford coach Ryan Britton said. “We have 11 all-state kids and a lot of them know their baseball. We did a good job coming back, and we’ve done that all season. The guys fought (Tuesday) and that was good about it.”

Thomas Bennett and Bryce Walker delivered two of the biggest blows for Post 23 (11-2), with each delivering a two-run base hit to give Milford a lead, and some headsup base running by Alec Burns and an RBI single by Jake McMaster put Post 23 up for good.

Sweeney (10-4) got the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Joey Grassett struck out Connor Walsh with two runners on to end the game.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win there, and on another night, things turn out different,” Sweeney coach Dave Fleury said. “I expected a close game and wasn’t surprised. We made a few more mistakes than they did, but ultimately, when you have two good teams, that’s what is going to be the difference.”

Grassett got the win for Milford by pitching three innings in relief of starter Ian Towle. Grassett allowed one run on two hits and three walks, while Towle gave up two earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out six in six innings.

McMaster was 3 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI, while Walker (two RBIs, run) and Ryan Hill each had two hits and Bennett scored twice and drove in two. Milford finished with 10 hits, but also drew three walks and had four batters hit by a pitch.

Mason Gilmartin suffered the loss for Sweeney, as he pitched just a third of an inning, allowing two of the three batters he faced to reach base. Drew Merrick started the game and pitched well in his 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven, but left after Milford took a 5-4 lead in the seventh.

Sweeney got on the board in the bottom of the first without a hit, as Joey Silva walked, stole second and went to third on a groundout. Walsh followed by crushing a ball to right that almost went over the head of Grassett, giving Silva plenty of time to tag and score.

Milford answered in the top of the second, loading the bases with nobody out. Burns hit a deep fly to left that Grant Corbett was able to track down, but Walker tagged and scored to tie it 1-1. A single reloaded the bases and Merrick struck out Grassett for the second out, but Bennett singled on the first pitch of his second at bat, bringing in two more runs for a 3-1 Milford lead.

Merrick settled in after that, keeping Post 23 off the board despite allowing a runner to reach base in every inning.

“Drew has pitched great all year,” Fleury said. “I’m not surprised with the outing he gave us. He’s one of our go-to guys and he’ll give us quality innings in the tournament. I like our chances with Drew on the ball against anybody.”

Post 2 took the lead back in the fourth, as an infield hit by Corbett and an error on a fielder’s choice by Dan Shesser gave Sweeney runners at first and second with no one out. Dylan O’Sullivan singled to score Corbett, and after a ground out advanced the runners, a wild pitch and a balk by Towle brought in two more runs to put Sweeney up 4-3.

“The big thing early on was that we knew their pitcher was showing his emotions on the mound, and our kids picked up on it and took advantage of it in that inning,” Fleury said.

Towle bounced back to strike out Riley Denver and Gilmartin to end the inning and keep it a one-run game.

“Ian let it get to his head a little bit, but the next inning we came back and he settled down,” Britton said. “Everybody just refreshed their minds and came back.”

Walker’s two-out double in the seventh, which came close to clearing the fence, scored Bennett and McMaster to chase Merrick and give Milford the lead, but Sweeney tied it 5-5 in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Jon Robinson (3 for 5).

Gilmartin hit Burns to lead off the eighth, and was replaced on the mound by Corbett, who recorded two outs on a sac bunt by Mason Gaudette and a flyout by Grassett. But two wild pitches and a throwing error allowed to Burns to score the go-ahead run, and after Bennett reached on an error, McMaster singled to give Milford an insurance run.

“That’s huge,” Britton said. “Not that we don’t trust our pitchers, because we have a great staff, but just that extra run, in that last inning, maybe something weird happens. We’ve come back and scored to win the game. Anything can happen.”

Sweeney was down to its last strike twice before Silva walked and Robinson singled to keep the game going in the ninth. But Grassett battled back to get Walsh swinging at a third strike to end the game.