Winnacunnet walks off with win as Larck scores all the way from first on bunt, error

HAMPTON – Jake Fredericks had a team-high 25 RBIs during the regular season.

With the season on the line in the first round of the Division I tournament on Thursday afternoon, the Winnacunnet senior captain and clean-up hitter was asked to lay down a bunt in the seventh inning of a 3-3 game with rival Dover.

With teammate Jackson Larck standing on first base thanks to a leadoff single off Dover’s Jon Dumais, Fredericks put down a bunt in fair territory to the right of catcher Ryder Aubin.

Aubin pounced to the ball, but his throw sailed into right field and Larck scampered all the way home as the fifth-seeded Warriors walked off with an improbable 4-3 win over the 12th-seeded Green Wave.

“(Larck) did his job getting on first base, and I got the bunt sign,” Fredericks said. “I was just trying to put one down and get (Larck) to second base. Fortunately, there was a bad throw and we scored. This is a great team win against a great team.”

Fredericks, hustling down the line with his head down, didn’t know the ball got past Dover first baseman Andrew Rapoza and into right field.

“That was probably the fastest I’ve ever ran,” Fredericks said. “I heard Coach (Dan Mariotti) saying two, two, two. I looked left and (Larck) was heading home. I was pumped up; a great win.”

Winnacunnet (16-5) will visit No. 4 Goffstown on Saturday at Saint Anselm College. The Grizzlies advanced with a 3-1 win over No. 13 Keene. The Warriors beat Goffstown, 15-0 in the regular season.

“I am just so proud of our guys for hanging in there and battling,” Winnacunnet head coach Aaron Abood said. “We were down 3-0 in a playoff game. They battled and put us in a position to win in the seventh. Proud of them for hanging in there, proud of them for battling. Proud of (Larck) for getting a hit there to lead off the seventh, and then (Fredericks), our biggest kid, putting down the best bunt I’ve ever seen.”

Abood said there was no question he was waving Larck around third base to attempt to score the game-winning run.

“I was hoping the ball would stay in play there so we could send him,” Abood said. “No question, I was sending him.”

Larck starts Winnacunnet's seventh-inning rally

Larck’s second hit of the day came on a 2-2 pitch, sending Dumais’ offering back up through the middle.

“That was a long run from first to home,” Larck laughed. “I saw third base open when I was rounding second, so I went for it. Then I saw Coach Abood waving me home, so I went home.”

Larck said he was shocked to see Abood waving him around.

“I didn’t even know where the ball was,” Larck said. “I thought it was going to be a close play at the plate, but I am glad I didn’t have to slide. I think this is going to be a big momentum for us going forward. We weren’t on our ‘A’ game for the first four innings, but those last three were definitely our ‘A’ game.”

Dover finished its season at 9-11.

Dover coach 'heartbroken' after walk-off loss

“It’s a tough pill to swallow losing that game,” Dover head coach Scott Dubben said. “Charlie Kubiet gave us a helluva effort on the mound and put us in a position to beat one of the best teams in the state, one of the better offenses, if not the best offense, in the state. I thought he competed his butt off. I am really proud of him. Really proud of the team getting out to a 3-0 lead.”

Kubiet scattered eight hits and allowed three earned runs over 4 1/3 innings and striking out six.

“A couple balls bounce a little bit differently for us in a couple of different spots I think we have a bigger lead, but Winnacunnet had guys in scoring position early in the game, and we made big pitches to get out of jams,” Dubben said. “It was a great baseball game. Heartbroken that I don’t get more time with this group of kids because it’s a special group of kids; it really is.”

Winnacunnet gets on board in fourth, tie it in fifth

The Warriors got the board with one run in the fourth. Junior Brady Thompson laced a one-out single to right and scored on sophomore Alex Santora’s double in the left-center gap.

Winnacunnet tied the game in the fifth. Ethan Nowak and Larck singled and both scored on Evan Gaffney’s two-run double.

“This team is great this year, this team is never out of a game,” Gaffney said. “(Kubiet) got me with a changeup, so I moved up a little bit in the box expecting changeup again. He threw me a changeup, and I got it before it broke. I was ready.”

Abood said Gaffney’s two-run double was ‘huge.’

“He absolutely smoked that ball to center field,” Abood said. “It was a great swing by a senior.”

Unexpected reliever keeps Winnacunnet in game

Winnacunnet senior Jason Pinsonnault earned the win in relief, allowing five hits and one earned run over the final five innings, striking out six.

Pinsonnault, who was lined up to start Saturday with a Winnacunnet win, relieved Nowak with two on and nobody out in the third, trailing 1-0. After a one-out walk to Andrew Rapoza loaded the bases, Timmy MacGregor’s sacrifice fly to left gave Dover a 2-0 lead.

Pinsonnault escaped further damage by getting Alex Cook to pop up to shortstop Timmy Knight, ending the inning.

“That’s what (Pinsonnault) does,” Abood said. “He came in against Pinkerton game and (kept us in the game), he’s done that all year. Did we want to go to him in the third inning today? That wasn’t the plan, but having him available and able to pitch is a weapon for us. I am always comfortable when he goes in.”

Gaffney flashes leather at first base

Gaffney also shined defensively at first base, twice making diving plays on lineouts to end innings.

“I am just trying to do my job for my pitcher,” Gaffney said. “Pince was absolutely dealing. He’s ready at all times. He was ready today, and I just had to make the plays behind him.”

"Phenomenal defense by (Gaffney) making two inning-ending plays," Abood said.

Dover jumps out to 2-0 lead after three innings

Dover scored a run in the second inning when Ryan Sullivan’s first of three hits on the day scored MacGregor, who started the inning with a one-out single to center.

The Green Wave extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth on a Jacob Mangum RBI single to center.

“It’s hard to come up with the right things to say at a moment like that, but I told the kids after the game that Dover baseball is heading in the right direction because of that group of boys. Just heartbroken we don’t get more time together, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

Editor's note: Winnacunnet pitcher Jason Pinsonnault is the son of Seacoast Media Group sports editor Jay Pinsonnault.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Winnacunnet baseball walks off with D1 tournament win over Dover