By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

The path Suncook's 11- and 12-year-old Little League all-star team plotted for a possible return trip to the District I finals of the state tournament received an adjustment to include a detour.

Suncook second baseman and No. 2 hitter Derek Daniels can't escape the grasp of his teammate moments after launching a fifth-inning solo home run to right field against Bedford at John Ho Sang Field on Saturday, July 2. The big hit pulled the locals to within one run at 3-2, but Bedford pulled away with six runs in the sixth for the 9-2 win. Marc Thaler Photo

After defeating a sound squad from Windham in their D-I tourney opener on Thursday, June 30, 5-4, the locals suffered their first setback of the summer against Bedford on Saturday, July 2, 9-2. Similar to its contest against.

Windham, Suncook was charged with the task of stifling another tremendous offense; Windham produced 15 runs in its first win against Derry American while Bedford plated 12 runners against Manchester West.

Through five innings at John Ho Sang Field, Suncook was well within striking distance of Bedford's bombers, trailing in a tight contest, 3-2.

Needing three defensive outs to reach the last of the sixth down a run, Suncook, the home team by coin toss, saw the game slip away as the deficit increased to seven runs.

A combination of bloop and seeingeye hits by Bedford plus a Suncook fielding error allowed the opposition to score six runs - five coming with two outs.

"At this level, when you don't get that third out and you've had two or three chances to get it, against a team like Bedford that can hit the ball, you're gonna be in trouble," said Suncook head coach V.J. Ranfos.

However, prior to the final frame, Suncook was certainly in the game.

Behind the right arm of pitcher Connor Moroney, Suncook kept Bedford's big bats at bay through the first three innings, holding the visiting club scoreless on one hit.

"The first couple of innings were slow for us; we didn't get the bats unleashed," said Bedford head coach Cary Buxton. "But also, you've gotta give credit to the other team because they not only had a great pitcher out there. But when we hit the ball, we hit it right to their players and they made the plays every single time."

Unlike Bedford in the early going, Suncook had its chances to take control. Although the boys grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third on a Moroney home run to right field, they couldn't capitalize on several key scoring opportunities to make their cushion more comfortable.

Suncook left the bases loaded in the home first and fifth without cashing in. After Moroney's homer in the bottom of the third, the boys moved runners to second and third with one out, but couldn't push a run across the plate.

"We couldn't get the key hits. We left a lot of runners stranded, but sometimes it happens," Ranfos said. "We would've loved to have any one of those bloop hits - or anything at that point - but nothing came of it. We hit the ball most of the time and they fielded it clean. That was a big part of the game. Their defense came up big for them."

In the top of the fourth, Bedford began to heat up at the plate. Suncook couldn't stop the opposition's 3-4-5 hitters, who recorded three straight hits . the third being a three-run homer to centerfield.

His team suddenly trailing, 3-1, Ranfos said he was pleased to see his club didn't quit despite having six straight batters retired by Bedford from the end of the third to the start of the fifth.

Then, with five outs to spare, No. 2 hitter Derek Daniels lined a laser over the right-field wall, slashing the Suncook deficit in half, 3-2.

Next, Matt Gosselin reached on a Bedford error and eventually advanced to third base with one out. Still, the Suncook rally fell short and Bedford used its last at-bat to put the game away.

Following the final out, Ranfos told his players to remain upbeat. The boys hung tough against a well-coached club and came close to winning, he said.

"I was very happy with the way we swung the bats," Ranfos said. "To hit the ball that consistently and only score two runs, the other team, you've gotta take your hats off to them. They played very good defense."

While the 2005 Suncook roster bares no resemblance to the '04 team that nearly took the D-I title, Ranfos said he hopes the lessons learned last summer as a coach will help this year's edition make another memorable tournament run.

Ranfos said the lessons learned included trying to slow the game down when the opposition is gaining momentum by talking to his fielders during a time out in an attempt to help them regroup.

But the biggest key to success, Ranfos added, wasn't something learned amidst the pressure of the D-I tournament. It's an age-old Little League philosophy.

"We take the positives (into the next game)," said the Suncook head coach, whose team was scheduled to host Bow in an elimination game on Thursday, July 7. "We hit the ball well and (we'll) try to work on that. We forget about that last inning and move on."