For the past fifteen years, we have broken down all four divisions every Thursday, and today, we rank the Top 10 contenders in each.

 Pete Tarrier will break down Divisions I, II & III weekly, while Dave Haley will rank the contenders in Division IV starting next week after he returns from his well deserved vacation.  

 Our column today is brought to you by our great friends and partners at Nashua Community College which is holding an Open House on Thursday, May 2nd.

 You can also register for Fall ‘24 and take 2 FREE Summer Classes!

 Find out if you're eligible at ccsnh.edu/SummerOnUs. In-person, online, and hybrid summer classes begin in May, June, and July at Nashua Community College. Contact admissions to learn more at 603.578.8908, or NCCAdmissions@ccsnh.edu

Division I 

Division I Standings & Statistical Leaders

1. Pinkerton (6-0) The 2024 edition of the Astros have blasted off by outscoring their opponents 48 to 8 over the first six games of the season.  Jackson Marshall has picked up right where he left off in basketball season and is hitting a league best .600 with 2 homers.  The pitching has been great too led by lefty Mike Cioffi who hasn’t allowed an earned run yet in 10.2 innings of work.

2. Londonderry (6-1) You may have already forgotten that the Lancers lost their opening game at Winnacunnet when Jones Vicinus struck out 13 batters, but it’s been six straight wins since for Londonderry.  Devin Boles, Brady Gillis, Joey Cafaro and Ryan Williams have led the pitching staff early on while Jet Jones, Brett McKinnon and Owen Carey have paced the offense.

3. Merrimack (6-1) Who woulda thunk Merrimack, a 2 win team last year would be sitting near the top of the D1 standings about a third of the way thru the regular season.  Ryan Mainey and Evan Sousa have come up big on the mound and at the plate for the Tomahawks.

4. Exeter (4-1) Bruce Joyce’s team has two really good early season wins over Trinity and Keene…and they also have a game still to be determined when they resume today in Londonderry which is the continuation of a game that was suspended in the 9th inning tied at 2.  

5. Keene (6-2) The Blackbirds were the talk of the division when they started off 5 and 0 out of the gate in dominant fashion, but a 3-1 loss to Exeter last Friday and then an 11-1 humbling in Londonderry on Tuesday have brought Keene back to the pack. 

6. Nashua North (4-1) After dropping their opener 11-0 to Dover, Zach Harris’ Titans have won 4 in a row.  Two of those wins came in last inning comebacks against Goffstown and Merrimack when they trailed by multiple runs before rallying.

7. Bishop Guertin (5-2) BG had won 4 in a row before a setback to Spaulding earlier this week.  Lefthander Sam Franco has been very good in 2 starts and Josh Wilson, Gavin Santos and Jackson Goldstein have led the offense.

8. Goffstown (4-2) The Grizzlies picked up a marquee win on Monday over Exeter sending the Blue Hawks to their 1st loss 11-1 in 5 innings.  Noah Durham pitched lights out and hit a home run in the game.  Cam Hujsak is off to a hot start with the bat and has a team leading 9 RBI.  

9. Windham (5-3) Jake Sullo is hitting .440 and has been a stud on the mound throwing nine innings without allowing an earned run to go with 19 strikeouts.  Catcher Alec Arinello has a .481 average and had the game winning hit in a 1-0 win against Dover.

10. Dover (5-3) Speaking of the Green Wave, they grab the 10th and final spot in our rankings this week The dynamic pitching duo of Kubiet and Cook each have 2 wins and Grant Davis has led the offense hitting .500 with 8 RBI.

Division II Standings & Statistical Leaders

 

1. Plymouth (6-0) The Bobcats followed up their dramatic 2-1 extra innings win at Pelham on Monday with a much easier 13-0 mercy rule shortened game against Coe-Brown on Wednesday.  Logan Finkle and Johnny Flaherty have been lights out on the mound so far.

2. John Stark (5-0) Dennis Pelletier’s team has an excellent 1-2 pitching punch as well with Chase Philibotte and Anthony Paolicelli.  The Generals still have a game to finish at Kingswood on Friday that was suspended because of darkness tied 0-0 in the 10th.  

3. Bow (4-1) The Falcons sent St. Thomas to their 1st defeat of the season behind a 14 strikeout, 2 hit performance from Peyton Larrabee in a 2-1 win.  Tough week next week for Bow as they will face Hanover, John Stark and Pelham.

4. St. Thomas (4-1) St. Thomas coach Carson Cross knows pitching and I’m sure he tipped his hat to Larrabee who shut the Saints down.  This is a team that in it’s four wins has scored 22, 18, 17 and 18 runs.  Interesting matchup this weekend for St. Thomas as they will take on D1 Bedford.

5. Merrimack Valley (3-1) Probably the only thing keeping the Pride this low in the rankings is the fact they’ve only played 4 games.  MV beat Bow in the season opener and their only loss came to #1 Plymouth in their second game.  The pitching staff led by Jonas Weed, Simon Keary and Luke Dougherty has been great.  

6. Pelham (4-2) The 2 losses by the Pythons are 1-0 against Milford and 2-1 versus Plymouth.  Henry Paquette has only given up 1 earned run in 21.2 innings of work with 32 strikeouts. First Baseman Zach James is hitting .450 with 9 driven in.  

7. Souhegan (5-2) The Souhegan bats have been hot with a .341 team batting average and just under 10 runs per game.  Nolan Colby is hitting .579, Max Hayes .500 and Cam Brown .476.  

8. Kingswood (2-1) Another team with not a whole lot to go on so far.  The Knights lost to Plymouth 3-1 on opening day and the two wins have come against Coe-Brown and Laconia.  They will finish the game against John Stark on Friday this week.

9. Lebanon (2-2) Chauncey Wood’s team roughed up Conval 8-0 and beat Souhegan 10-4 in Amherst before losing back to back 6 to 5 games against John Stark and Bow.  Next up are Hanover, Pembroke and Plymouth.

10. Pembroke (2-2) Good wins over Hanover and Sanborn have the Spartans checked in at the 10th spot in the rankings this week.  The losses came against Bow and Souhegan.  It gets tough next week with Merrimack Valley, Kingswood and Lebanon.

Division III Standings & Statistical Leaders

1. White Mountains (4-0)  The Spartans from the North Country have outscored their opponents 49-3, which includes a 4-2 win over Belmont.  That means they won their other 3 games by a combined score of 45 to 1. 

2. Campbell (5-1) The Cougars lost to Belmont on opening day, but have reeled off 5 straight wins since.  Jack Kidwell, Braydon White and Hunter Henderson have led an offense that can score some serious runs.  And the pitching is darn good too. 

3. Conant (3-0) Big boy win over Monadnock for the Orioles, the 1st time they have beaten the Huskies since 2018.  We are excited to be sending the NHSportspage video camera to Jaffrey next Wednesday for the rematch against Monadnock.

4. Monadnock (5-1) Speaking of the Huskies…Ben Dean struck out 16 Brattleboro Union batters in a game earlier this week.  He’s also hitting .611 with 2 homers and 12 RBI so far.

5. Belmont (2-1) OK, so the Red Raiders have only played 3 games.  But I still think they are one of the top teams in the division despite the 4-2 loss to White Mountains.  Look for Anakin Underhill, Wyatt Divers and Jaxson Embree to keep this team on the winning track.

6. Raymond (4-0) Who had the Rams with 4 wins this year?…I’m talking total wins?  Credit to coach Collin Lee who has turned around the culture in Raymond in a heartbeat.   Raymond has some tough games coming up, but it looks like this might just be a playoff team!  

7. Bishop Brady (3-1) Brady lost 6-4 to Campbell, but they have beaten up on everybody else they’ve played.  Winn Thomas and Andy Hunton have led the offense so far.

8. Fall Mountain (2-0) The Wildcats have played 2 games, both behind starting pitcher Patrick Connors who has 25 strikeouts in 12 innings with only 2 hits given up.

9. Gilford (2-1) The Golden Eagles lost to Campbell 8-0, but they bounced back by beating Hopkinton 7-2 and crushing Berlin 19-0.  Tough week next week as they play Belmont, White Mountains and Monadnock back to back to back.  Yikes! 

10. Kearsarge (2-1) Kearsarge lost to Mascoma in their last game before school vacation week, but gets the final spot in the Top 10 with wins over Stevens and Winnisquam.