MANCHESTER, N.H. — The celebration brewed for more than an hour.
As Pinkerton authored a brilliant, dominant state championship performance, the excitement grew as the Astros waited to rejoice in their return to the peak of the Granite State baseball world.
Finally, after Hunter Brasier blew away one final hitter with a strikeout, the party was on.
“Wow, just, wow,” said shortstop Brendan Horne. “This is amazing! We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, and we got it done. This is what we’ve been working for, for so long, and being a champion is the best feeling in the world.”
Top-seeded Pinkerton scored five runs in the fourth inning and never looked back, rolling past No. 2 Exeter 9-0 in the New Hampshire Division I state championship game on Saturday night at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ Delta Dental Stadium.
“I’ve been dreaming about this since the season started,” said senior third baseman Josh Jones, who had a two-run triple in the breakout fourth. “I graduated on Friday night, and now I’m a state champion. Lets go! We were feeding off each other. The bats were going, and we knew we could do it.”
The title was the second for Pinkerton (20-1) in three years. The Astros beat Londonderry for the 2022 Division I crown, then fell in the title game to the Lancers last spring.
“It means to much to leave my high school career as a champion,” said first baseman Jackson Marshall. “Last year, it was a silent bus ride after losing in the championship to Londonderry. This year is very different. Everyone was hitting up and down, even guys that were struggling. This was a team win, and it’s awesome.”
After a few missed opportunities in the early innings, the Astros blew the game wide open with the five-run fourth.
Left fielder Anthony Caruso opened the inning with a walk, stole second and scored when Brasier singled to right, and the Exeter outfielder threw the ball away.
John Hanlon then walked, Leo Boucher followed with an RBI single, Jones drove in two with his triple and catcher Elijah Sharp plated a run with a hard hit ball that ate up the second baseman.
“We had to do something,” said Sharp. “Someone was going to get a big hit. We have the best offense in the state. We weren’t going to go the whole game without a run. We were going to break through eventually, and we did.”
It was all Astros from there. They added another run in the fifth, when Caruso walked, and pinch runner Cyle Archer came around to score on a passed ball. They then iced the win with three runs in the sixth, on RBI sacrifice flies by Horne and Brasier and an RBI single by pinch hitter Jake Adrien.
“We knew whoever scored first was going to win,” said Horne. “And after we scored, it was over for them. We had it.”
That was far more than enough for Pinkerton starter Michael Cioffi. The junior went 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just four hits — two in the first inning when Exeter loaded the bases — and three walks while striking out five. He left the game after throwing 101 pitches.
“The first was scary, but I took a breath and started throwing strikes and we got out of it,” said Cioffi. “In about the third inning I was on a roll. I was getting outs, blowing the ball past them and my curveball was working. I was pounding the zone on the inside and outside, and making them roll over and pop up.”
Braiser — who earned the win in the semifinals — then finished the job, an the Astros went wild.
“I knew we were going to get here, but we didn’t know what kind of road we would take to get here,” said Sharp. “Everyone we played was tough, but we’re here, and it’s surreal. I love these guys.”
Pinkerton 9, Exeter 0
Division I State Title Game
Exeter (21-2): 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 — 0
Pinkerton (21-1): 0-0-0-5-1-3-x — 9
Exeter (0): Hayden Schimoler ss/p 2-0-2, Mike Caron lf 4-0-1, Cam Keaveney rf 3-0-0, Brennan Schimoler 3b 2-0-0, Shea LaFleur 1b 3-0-1, Finn Adams c 2-0-0, Jack Dever cf 3-0-0, Camren Piwnicki p 2-0-0, John Bakker 2b 3-0-0. Totals 24-0-4
Pinkerton (9): Brendan Horne ss 3-0-1, Jackson Marshall 1b 3-0-0, Cole Eaton pr 0-1-0, Anthony Caruso lf 1-1-1, Cyle Archer pr/lf 0-1-0, Hunter Brasier rf/p 3-1-2, Edmond Baker pr 0-0-0, John Hanlon dh 1-0-0, Bryce Cooper pr 0-1-0, Jake Adrien ph 1-0-1, Leo Boucher cf 2-1-1, Josh Jones 3b 3-1-1, Elijah Sharp c 1-1-0, Preston Libby 2b 3-1-2, Michael Cioffi p 0-0-0. Totals 21-9-9
RBIs: PA — Boucher, Jones 2, Sharp, Horne, Brasier, Adrien
WP: Michael Cioffi; LP: Camren Piwnicki