A year ago the Portsmouth High School baseball team finished 23-0 and won the Class I state championship. Fast forward to this season and not much has changed – at least not at the top of the Class I standings.
Portsmouth is off to an 8-0 start and is the only unbeaten team in Class I.
“We had a fairy-tale season last year because of our pitching and the length of our lineup,” Portsmouth coach Tim Hopley said. “It’s been different this year. We’re not the kind of team that’s going to put up double figures in runs. Our margin for error was much greater (last season).”
Junior first baseman Mike Montville is having a dominant season at the plate. Montville is hitting .625 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in eight games. Clemson is among the many Division I programs that have shown an interest in Montville.
Third baseman Peter Bergeron (.455), designated hitter Aidan O’Leary (.391) and shortstop Mike Fransoso (.350) are the other top threats in Portsmouth’s batting order. Fransoso has accepted a baseball scholarship from the University of Maine.
Junior Nate Jones is 4-0 with one save and a 0.67 ERA. Keegan Taylor and Gabe May have provided depth in the rotation. Taylor, sophomore, is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA; and May is 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA.
The Clippers may face their toughest test of the regular season Friday, when they play at St. Thomas Aquinas (8-1).
“Are we good enough to win it again this year? I don’t know,” Hopley said. “Good pitching will affect us. Last year we had ways to deal with that. I do know we’re gonna have to get better.
“Right now we’re just happy that we’re halfway through the (regular) season and we still have a zero in the right-hand column.”
Football: Epping-Newmarket hires Francoeur
Ryan Francoeur, who has spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach at Winnacunnet High School, has been selected to replace Rich McFadden as the head coach at Epping-Newmarket.
Francoeur will take over a program that gained varsity status in 2004, but has not won more than four games in a season.
"I'm a pretty ambitious guy," Francoeur said. "I always wanted to be a head coach. I didn't want to let this opportunity pass by. I think I'm ready."
McFadden, who had served as Epping's head coach since 2004, resigned in March. McFadden helped Epping and Newmarket form a co-op program after the 2007 season.
Epping posted a 22-6 victory over Gilford in its first varsity game, but is still seeking its first playoff berth. The Blue Devils finished 2-7 in 2004, 4-5 in 2005, 1-8 in 2006, 2-8 in 2007 and 1-8 in 2008.
Francoeur, 29, played for current Spaulding head coach Jim Keays at Somersworth High School. He spent one year as an assistant coach at Noble High School in North Berwick, Maine, before joining the Winnacunnet staff. He has served as Winnacunnet junior varsity head coach for the last three years.
"Ryan is young and energetic" Epping athletic director Larry Averill said. "People spoke highly of him."
Boys Lacrosse: Top teams to meet
Pinkerton Academy will play at Bishop Guertin on Thursday night in a matchup between programs that played for the Division I championship last season. BG won that matchup, 14-11.
BG (10-0) and Pinkerton (9-0) are the only unbeaten teams in Division I.
Pinkerton attackman Brian Estes, who is now a senior, scored six goals in that loss. Estes was one of eight New Hampshire players – and the only non-senior -named to the U.S. Lacrosse All-American team last season.
