Portsmouth All-Stars rally past Concord to reach District 2 final

PORTSMOUTH — Considering the adversity Portsmouth Little League faced just to get on the field this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was only appropriate that its 11/12 All-Star team faced an obstacle with its season on the line.

The unrealistic thought in the spring of having a chance to defend its District 2 championship became reality on Monday night.

Trailing 2-1 against No. 3 Concord in the District 2 semifinals, second-seeded Portsmouth rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Portsmouth relief pitcher Austin Corbett then worked out of a jam in the top of the sixth to preserve a 4-2 Portsmouth victory at Plains Field.

“I’ve been telling these kids all along that there is going to be adversity — but it’s how you respond to that adversity when you get down is what separates a good team from a great team,” Portsmouth coach Simon Lampert said. “We got down 2-1, but we got right back at it. We scrapped and we clawed our way. It’s just a testament to their compete level.”

Portsmouth (3-2) advanced to play top-seeded North Manchester/Hooksett (5-0) in Friday’s District 2 championship game at Grappone Park in Concord. North Manchester/Hooksett advanced with a 15-0 victory over No. 4 Laconia (1-5).

“When I learned we weren’t going to play baseball for a little bit, I was a little sad,” Portsmouth starting pitcher Zavier Lampert said. “I love baseball and last summer was so much fun, so I’m just happy we could get it in and we have one more game.”

Zavier Lampert gave Portsmouth a 1-0 lead with an RBI single off Concord starting pitcher Charlie Bolnick, and he held that advantage by retiring the first 10 batters of the game until Henry Thresher’s one-out single in the top of the fourth.

Noah Chrabolowski promptly followed with a two-run blast over the center-field fence to give Concord a 2-1 lead. Lampert (five innings, three hits, five strikeouts) rebounded by retiring the final four batters he faced.

“It was too good of a pitch to that good of a player,” Zavier Lampert said. “But I felt like I threw well.”

Meanwhile, Bolnick allowed only two hits and stranded four baserunners until he hit his 85-pitch limit with two out in the bottom of the third.

“We got up early and I thought we were going to start rolling, but we just couldn’t get that timely hit,” coach Lampert said. “(Bolnick) stuck to it, and he was excellent in pressure situations and I thought he did a fantastic job.”

J.D. Breezy relieved Bolnick to get the last out of the fourth, but immediately ran into trouble when Zavier Lamber led off the bottom of the fifth with a single. Porter Lalime followed with a walk and Nate Delaney singled to load the bases with nobody out.

After getting down into an 0-2 hole, pinch-hitter Dylan Sanborn delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.

With one out, Breezy hit Sam Jefferey to force in a run, and Corbett beat out an infield single with two outs to plate Sanborn and give Portsmouth its 4-2 advantage.

“Last game we played against them (a 7-1 Portsmouth win), Zavier pitched very well and today was no different,” Concord coach Ricky Gaudreault said “We were just trying to string together some hits. We got that big home run and they kept battling back.”

Corbett was then given the ball to finish off the top of the sixth for Portsmouth, and he was immediately greeted with an Andrew Fitzgerald double. Aiden Harris’ single put runners on the corners, but a pair of line outs sealed the save for Corbett.

“I was a little bit nervous, but I just relied on the team to make the plays,” Corbett said, “and it paid off in the end.”

“We were down late (Monday) and there wasn’t a glimmer of doubt in their eyes. They truly believed in themselves,” coach Lampert said. “I told them to believe in themselves and each other and the possibilities are endless. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Portsmouth dropped a 5-1 decision to North Manchester/Hooksett in round-robin play.