WORLD SERIES BOUND: Hudson Legion travels to North Carolina for the first time
After winning the regional tournament, Hudson Post 100 will be heading to the American Legion World Series for the first time after defeating Rhode Island.
MANCHESTER, NH – Pretend you have…
(Behind towards the end of the game).
I have experienced this.
Pretend that you…
(American Legion World Series).
Not there.
Another day, another comeback – the endless summer of the Hudson Post 100 continues.
Six runs ahead, one run behind. A normal afternoon as we wait for the next hero to be crowned. Where do I begin?
Let’s try Dan Demirjian. Three singles that brought in runs, including a two-out knock in the sixth inning that tied the score at 9-9. Or Peter Ward’s incapacitating relief effort on the mound in the fourth inning before he hit a double to Demirjian that scored the winning run.
Solid candidates, but Anthony Moura’s three-run double to highlight a decisive seven-run sixth inning finally put Hudson in comfortable position in his team’s 15-9 victory Sunday over Cumberland, R.I., that gave Post 100 its first American Legion regional championship title.
After closer Ryan Graf forced a fly ball to game-winning right fielder Ward, he was doused with water bottles filled by the reserve players just before his final pitch. Coach Ryan Bowen had it even worse when a bucket of Gatorade was emptied over his head.
This is how you celebrate a program’s first trip to the American Legion World Series.
“It just means the world to me,” said Demirjian (pun intended), a 2023 graduate of Hudson High School and recently transferred from Framingham State to Springfield College. “I’ve been playing with these kids since I was nine. It’s surreal to have to go to North Carolina.”
Tournament MVP Chase Donahue was asked on July 18 if a trip to Shelby, North Carolina, to play in the World Series was possible, when Post 100 needed a 4-3 win over Framingham to advance to the Zone 4 playoffs.
“I want to say I would have called you crazy,” said Donahue, who recently transferred from Southern Maine to Mitchell College. “I know that sounds rude, but now that it’s in the cards, I’m playing with the cards we’ve been dealt, and I’m not going to give them up anytime soon.”
Moura’s base-clearing double confirmed his premonition before the tournament.
“I’ve actually been waiting for this for a while,” he said. “When we got here to the banquet, I knew we were going to win it all. I had a funny feeling. This team is special.”
Another World Series for the Hudson quartet
Six summers ago, Bobby Long Jr., Connor Madden, Teddy McFarland and Demirjian played on Hudson’s first team to reach this level, when the city’s 12U junior team advanced to the Cal Ripken World Series in Branson, Missouri. Matt McFarland was their coach.
On Sunday, Long scored three times after being hit by shots, and Demirjian went 3-for-5, joining Madden and 1923 Hudson High School graduate Teddy McFarland to again reach the series.
Matt McFarland said he couldn’t imagine a trip to Shelby because many Post 100 games have been decided in dramatic fashion by a single run.
“Not only is (the World Series) so far in the future, but the next inning is so far in the future, the next game, the next score,” he said. “It’s just crazy. They didn’t realize they were behind; they just kept playing baseball.”
“We’re not afraid of pressure,” Donahue said. “Honestly, if you ask some of the guys, I think we like it.”
Further twists for Post 100
Hudson scored six times in the second, sparked by Moura’s effort on a base-loading bunt. Demirjian scored his first run and with Michael Atwater on the mound, the lead seemed secure. But Cumberland’s five runs in the third and another in the fourth tied it.
After Hudson scored twice, Cumberland scored three runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 9-8, but it was quickly erased. Chase Barrett went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Ryan Dillon and Marshall Kehlhem both scored twice, and Matt Gogan had a hit and scored a run.
Post 100 calmed everyone except Bowen with seven runs in the sixth over.
“I was still a little nervous. I wasn’t relaxed until the last time,” he said.
Does a trip to the World Series seem realistic to you, Coach?
“No. It wasn’t real that we were even in the regional,” said Bowen, whose team plays Southeast champion Wayne County, NC, in the World Series opener at 4 p.m. Thursday. “I think we’ll only realize that when we look back and say, ‘Wow. What a crazy journey.'”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @TimDumas.
