The question keeps getting asked, and the answer is the same.

“What are you doing since there’s no sports?” would be the inquiry.

The answer was always the same – plenty, because locally, there’s always sports.

But now we have concrete proof to put the gross misconception to bed. Mark down Saturday, July 11, as a milestone and the brightest of days in these often dark uncertain times.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better local sports day than this past Saturday. It offered so much on so many different levels.

You had a legendary local golf family see its legacy extended to a fourth generation when James Pleat captured the 117th New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship. Anyone who doesn’t think that’s a big deal or a huge local sports story wasn’t at the 17th green at Nashua Country Club around 3 p.m. Saturday.

It was a superb event. The entire week culminated in a great finals match between Pleat and Bishop Guertin alum Cam Sheedy, who is a pretty good story himself. Sheedy has a great sense of humor, as shown when he put his hand to his ear (his Patrick Reed move) when he accepted his runnerup award. He made it an interesting day by putting a charge on Pleat over the final four holes. His tee shots let him down but his putter didn’t.

But the crowd was amazing. Quite the following for both, and Pleat was as humble and classy as ever in victory. The guy dominated the tournament, and thus far we’d have to say this was the local event of the year – especially when you consider that high school sports was wiped out in March by the pandemic.

In fact, New Hampshire Golf Association Executive Director Matt Schmidt said during the closing remarks that if someone had asked back in March if the State Am would be held as scheduled, he would have really doubted it.

But the crowd on Saturday told you golf is thriving.

So is local baseball, as we move to the next site. That would have been the NEIBL doubleheader between Amherst and Durham at Souhegan High School. Amherst won on a walk-off Troy Brennan base hit, 4-3. And then Durham turned the tables and walked off with an 8-7 win in the nightcap. Two games, two walk-offs.

Keep that term in mind. The Nashua JV NEIBL team also enjoyed a walk-off win in the second game of a doubleheader.

And then we come to Saturday night at Holman Stadium. A great crowd was on hand during these pandemic times of 501, and what you saw was a superb baseball game between two Futures Collegiate Baseball League rivals, the North Shore Navigators and the Nashua Silver Knights.

The fans were loud. The players were just as loud. It was a back and forth game, with Nashua looking to hand the Navs their first loss of the season.

It looked bleak when North Shore grabbed a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth on a ground rule double that one hopped the left field 307 foot sign.

But then the Navigators pitching fell apart in the bottom of the ninth, a wild pitch tying the game and Salem’s Nick Shumski hit a single to left to plate the 5-4 game winner with two out.

The Holman crowd went crazy and so did the Silver Knights, taking the celebration all the way to left field. Again, a game and an event you probably didn’t think was possible in March, April, May or even early June.

Lots of events you never thought would happen.

No sports? Guess again.

Let’s hope it stays that way. If it does, remember Saturday, July 11.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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