Softball Notes: Thompson trying to help lead Winnacunnet in a different way

Hannah Thompson is one of the youngest volunteer assistant softball coaches in the Granite State. Her Winnacunnet High School teammates would rather have their classmate and tri-captain patrolling second base for the Warriors.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association denied the 19-year-old senior’s softball eligibility three times, the last coming via court ruling in mid-April courtesy of New Hampshire Superior Court Judge Andrew R. Schulman’s siding with the NHIAA.

Thompson attended Governor’s Academy, a prep school in Byfield, Mass., as a freshman. She repeated her freshman year upon transferring to Winnacunnet (7-2). The NHIAA allows a student to participate in athletics for eight consecutive semesters once they begin the ninth grade. If Covid-19 didn’t wipe out last season, Thompson’s junior year would have been her last.

School administrators were arguing that Thompson should be granted eligibility this spring since last season was erased, just as the NCAA did with its student athletes. The NHIAA disagreed and eventually won in court.

“I thought the longer it went, waiting for the judge’s ruling, the better chance I had,” Thompson said. “I think the judge was really looking into it and I appreciate that. He could have just ignored it altogether. He took the time to look at my case. The longer it went, the better chance I thought I had. I found out the decision right before the Windham game. I couldn’t understand and still don’t, but that was the final ruling. I just had to make the most out of the situation for myself and my team.”

Still in disbelief weeks later, Thompson has turned that negative into a positive. She’s at every team meeting, every practice and every game. Thompson – who is heading to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D., on a softball scholarship – is getting in some work at a position other than second base this spring.

“I’ve always loved coaching,” said Thompson, a Division I All-State player with a batting average over .500 in her two years at Winnacunnet. “I love the game of softball. I’ve been helped by others along the way, and this is my chance to offer assistance to younger players like was given to me. I have a lot to give, and I just feel like I have to be here for them as much as for myself.”

Her teammates never had a doubt that Thompson would stick with them in the end.

Senior tri-captain Nicole Basil, who has played with Thompson since she was 8, has shifted from third base to fill the hole left by her teammate’s ineligibility.

“That is one of the reasons why she is a great captain,” Basil said. “I wasn’t surprised at how she handled the situation at all. She was hurting and so were the rest of us. We know how strong a team we have this year and that we can win this. We wanted her to be with us on the field for everything. We knew even if it didn’t work out that way, that she would always be with us and she is.”

Senior tri-captain Macie Harkovich agrees.

“Hannah is amazing,” Harkovich said. “The role she’s taken on and how much effort she still puts in every day to help our team get better is outstanding. She has definitely been helping us all improve.”

For 15-year head coach Dennis Bruce, having Thompson step up in what amounts to a volunteer assistant role is invaluable. As soon as everyone got past the disappointment of the courtroom defeat, the entire team was laser focused in winning on the field.

“That was a sad day,” Bruce said. “All the kids were sad. Coaches, staff, administrators, parents – it was sad for all of us. Hannah wasn’t going to let that be something that got us in a rut as a team. She’s been here every single day, every step of the way, and doing whatever we ask of her. She really is a volunteer assistant coach.”

Winnacunnet opened the season on a seven-game win streak, beating Timberlane (3-4), Dover (1-4) and Windham (4-3) twice, and once over Division III’s St. Thomas (3-4).

The Warriors suffered their first and second losses the week of May 3 in a home-and-home set with Salem (8-1), and are scheduled to visit Bishop Guertin in Nashua May 8 at 4 p.m., before playing two with Spaulding on May 10 at 4 p.m. in Hampton and May 12 in Rochester at 6 p.m.

Thompson sees good things ahead for her Warriors.

“I’m excited for the rest of the season,” she said. “Macie is one of the most unbothered pitchers I’ve ever seen. Nothing fazes her, and she has faith in our offense to come through in support. The middle of our lineup is strong. Everyone is producing from top to bottom at the plate. We have great speed on the bases. We have a complete team that should be in the thick of things when it’s tournament time.”

Thompson’s teammates are grateful that complete team still includes her.

“She deserves this,” Basil said. “Seriously, if anyone deserves a title in her last season it’s Hannah. We want this so bad for all of us, but especially for her.”

Basil isn’t alone in this assessment.

“We’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can every game to get this done,” Harkovich said. “We want to win this for Hannah.”

Diamond Gems

Here’s a look at some recent standout performances from around the state:

• Abby Walsh had four hits, including a double and grand slam, in Epping’s 15-10 win over Raymond on May 7. Autumn Loving (four hits, two runs scored) and Laney McAniff (three hits, two runs scored) also chipped in offensively for the Blue Devils.
• Exeter’s Summer Leclerc had two hits, including a three-run homer in a 7-4 win over Concord on May 7.
• Newmarket’s Kaylen Fowler hurled a one-hitter in an 18-1 win over Farmington on May 6.
• Dover’s Elizabeth Edmonds had four hits, including two doubles, drove in two runs and scored three times to lead the Green Wave over Windham 13-10 on May 6.
• Sydney Emerson (three hits, three runs), Jennifer Olson (two hits, two runs), Madison Burns (two hits), Vania Moniz (two hits), Addie Lucier (three RBI) and Emersen Poulin (two RBI) all produced in Salem’s 9-6 win over Exeter on April 28.

To report standout diamond performances, or offer ideas for the softball notebook, send an email to scioneg@gmail.com.