Coffey Post pitcher Elias Bourque has supreme confidence in third baseman Jake O'Connor as he guns down a Portsmouth runner at first.

NASHUA – Friday night seems like a distant memory.

The Nashua Coffey Post 3 baseball team shook off the doldrums of Friday night’s opening loss to Weare and finds itself in the final four of the State American Legion playoffs.

There is still plenty of work to be done after Sunday’s 12-0, mercy rule-shortened thumping of Portsmouth’s Booma Post – four more wins over the next two days to be exact – but resilient Nashua still has life.

“They’re showing some fight, and the last two days we’ve gotten some good pitching,” said Nashua coach Tim Lunn. “Isaac (Zhang) was great (Saturday), and today Elias (Bourque) was awesome in terms of just pounding the strike zone and attacking. If our pitchers can continue to set the tone for us and the guys continue to swing the bats at the plate, I think we can continue to keep on this little roll we’ve got going.”

Now 18-2, Nashua looks to avenge that opening loss to Weare in an elimination game on Monday here at 4 p.m. at Holman Stadium. The winner in that one then comes right back to face Londonderry at 7 p.m.

Monday night’s survivor would then have to knock off District A champ Concord twice on Tuesday.

Sunday’s win was all Nashua, basically from the start, thanks to Bourque, who spun four innings of one-hit ball before allowing lefty Sam Franco to mop up in the fifth.

Perhaps, Bourque was looking out for the best interests of his catcher, Max Riordan, who was entrusted with wearing all that extra gear in the 100-plus degree heat.

“Elias (43 pitches in 4 innings) did a great job keeping the innings short,” said Riordan. “We were going off him today, and he set the tone for us. We got the bats going and just started rolling from there.”

Portsmouth, the defending state champ, just didn’t have it in this one.

“It’s not something you expect playing a good team like Portsmouth. They did what we did on Friday, walks, misplays in the field, and then things snowball like that,” said Lunn. “Baseball is a tough game. Somebody has to step up and make that play. They struggled with that, just like we did on Friday.

“Our guys had good approaches at the plate, took some good swings and put the ball in play.”

Nashua took the lead in the second when Ryan Bourgeois walked and came all the way around to score when Riordan’s grounder to third was first kicked and then thrown away.

Riordan ended up on third, but not for long. Jake O’Connor walked and the two pulled off the first-and-third double steal. Dom Monico then made it 3-0 with an RBI single.

A wind-blown Luke Anderson double was followed by a hit batter and a walk to load the bases in the Nashua third.

Bourgeois singled in a run and Riordan’s chopper went under the shortstop’s glove, scoring a pair to make it 6-0.

O’Connor’s infield single scored another and Monico roped a two-run base hit for a 9-0 lead.

Paddy Mac Seain and Zhang pitched in RBI hits to close out the eight-run inning and leave Nashua to just get outs and put Portsmouth away.

Riordan noted that the Nashua spirits remain high, even though the task that lies ahead is still pretty epic.

“Even after the loss, we knew we can’t hang our heads,” he said. “We wanted to win the next day and just play the best baseball we can as long as we can.”

The rout helped Lunn conserve some pitching and leaves Nashua in as good a position as it could be, considering the circumstances.

“Almost everybody is set up for the days to come, but everything can change depending on the game,” he said. “I can plan it out perfectly, but then the way the game plays out could change all that.”

State American Legion Championships

Friday’s Games

Game 1: Concord 3, Dover 2

Game 2: Londonderry 3, Merrimack 0

Game 3: Portsmouth 10, Sweeney Post 0

Game 4: Weare 11, Nashua 8

Saturday’s Games

Game 5: Dover 5, Sweeney Post 4 (Sweeney eliminated)

Game 6: Nashua 11, Merrimack 5 (Merrimack eliminated)

Game 7: Concord 3, Portsmouth 2

Game 8: Londonderry 10, Weare 0

Sunday’s Games

Game 9: Nashua 12, Portsmouth 0 (Portsmouth eliminated)

Game 10: Weare 4, Dover 0 (Dover eliminated)

Game 11: Concord 7, Londonderry 5

Monday’s Games

Game 12: Nashua vs. Weare, 4 p.m. (Loser eliminated)

Game 13: Londonderry vs. Nashua/Weare winner, 7 p.m. (Loser eliminated)

Tuesday’s Games

Game 14: Concord vs. Winner Game 13

Game 15: Winner Game 14 vs. Loser Game 14 (if needed)