MERRIMACK VALLEY REDBIRDS 12, MEREDITH MUDDUCKS 5

In his final season in the GSBL Chris Lavallee’s Birds cruised to victory in the GSBL’s 2023 Opening Day.

The RedBirds welcomed Dan Curnyn and The Fighting Guilmettes to Michelle Field in Salem on Saturday night and made a statement. Led by the arms of Kyle Parmley and Tyler Thorgerson, the Birds allowed only 3 earned runs, while striking out 10 Ducks. The Red Birds lineup rallied late, scoring 8 runs in the final 3 frames led by Cody Bassett and Jolmi Minaya, and Lavallee, who had 2 hits and 1 RBI.

 

For the MudDucks, Nick Englert smacked 3 hits and pitched 5 strong innings, and the favorite Guilmette brother, Josh, recorded his first RBI for the Ducks since leaving the team after the 2021 season.

 

LAKES REGION MUSKRATS 14, MERRIMACK BREWERS 3
Jake Kleckner and his visiting rats sailed to their first win behind Kleckner’s seven strong innings on the hill.

 

Pacing the offense for the Muskrats was catcher Chris Moultroup, who smacked 3 hits and scored 3 runs, and Griffin LaFleur, who drove in two runs.

 

For Bob Gould’s Brewers, Foster St Cyr led the offense with 3 hits, and he also pitched 4 innings in the loss.

 

NASHUA ROCKIES 12 RAPHAEL CLUB BLACK SOX 5

The Rockies stormed into the Black Sox new home field in Concord and conquered.

 

After getting behind early, Kyle Boucher picked up his team on the mound, pitching 5 strong innings. The Rockies lineup was lead by newcomer Roy Santiago, who drove in 3 runs, Boucher, who had 3 hits and 2 RBI, and Andrew Thibault, who also recorded 3 hits and 2 RBI on the way to a week 1 victory.

 

For Julian Abate’s Black Sox, Cole Hapgood thew 4 innings and allowed 3 runs, keeping the Sox in the game early. Will Duarte and Kevin Lee led the Black Sox lineup with two hits each. The Black Sox may have lost the game, but surely the bartender at the Raphael Club was a winner after the game.

 

GRANITE STATE GRIZZLIES 16, NEW HAMPSHIRE BUCKS 5

In the inaugural GSBL game for the Bucks, Rookie Austin Martin surprised the Grizzlies starter Jake Chamblee with a two-run bomb in the 4th. Chamblee sailed through the first 3 innings however, and only allowed those 2 runs in 4 innings of 2-hit ball. 

 

Coach Joey Vieira gave the Bucks a 140 pitch effort in the loss, but in the end, the Grizzlies lineup led by Drew Robinson, Santiago Pena, and Justin Renik proved to be too much for the young Bucks. Jeff Bouchard came in, in the 5th inning, and got off to a rough start, but once he regained his control, held off the Bucks and passed the ball to Renik who finished the Bucks with a scoreless inning.

 

LINCOLN ATHLETICS 6 NEW HAMPSHIRE CARDINALS 3
The revamped, younger A’s traveled down to Concord and ambushed Aaron Wovkanech’s Cardinals to start 2023 strong. Cameron Manning (3 hits), and Cory Glines got the A’s offense started early, and newcomer Jared Gunter held down the Cards for 9 innings on the hill. Casey Damon also had multiple hits for the A’s victorious lineup.

 

For the Cardinals, Nelly Diaz and Kevin Veilleux each had 2 hits, and GSBL rookie Nick Lemay pitched 3 innings, only allowing 2 hits and 1 run.