(c) copyright James Thomas Photography Nashua Post 3 team members celebrate on the field after winning the New Hampshire Legion State Championship.

NASHUA – Two years ago, manager Tim Lunn took Coffey Post to the 2021 New Hampshire Legion Championship after sweeping the winner’s bracket to take on Portsmouth. In dramatic fashion, Portsmouth took Nashua to a winner-take-all game where they shut them out, leaving Post Coffey bewildered yet determined to make it back to the top.

This time, in the same position, Nashua delivered in the championship, this time going undefeated and taking down reigning champions Concord Post 21 in swift execution, as Elias Bourque pitched a complete-game shutout to take a 3-0 victory in their first championship since 2019.

Next up: The Regionals starting Aug. 2 in Shrewsbury, Mass.

The difference this year for Lunn’s squad was clear: execution of a game plan that never faltered. The aggressive hitting, the consistent pitching, and focus firing on all cylinders allowed the defense to limit any crucial mistakes on the way to a championship win. In a tournament where Nashua played the two strongest teams in their district as well as the reigning champions, they never gave up a lead and always appeared to have the upper hand even if the contest was close.

“It comes down to the work we’ve done, and it’s been a long process over a long summer,” said Lunn. “We’ve learned how to manufacture runs,” said Lunn. “They were just locked in mentally and they understand that you have to have an approach; it showed from game to game.”

In fact, Nashua scored their first first-inning run of the tournament today, when Nashua’s Travis Lafontaine ripped a liner to left field on the first pitch, keeping Nashua’s aggressive plate approach known as he stole on the next batter and moved to third on a groundout from Jackson Goldstein. Ryan Haskell, who had two hits in the bout against Portsmouth, ripped a line drive to left for the RBI single for an early Nashua 1-0 lead. 

In the next inning, Jake O’Conner walked and then stole a base the next batter, advancing to third on an error on a pitcher pickoff error and getting knocked in by Dominic Monico to get up 2-0. Nashua put themselves in prime position from the start by sticking to their game plan: pulling fastballs to left field and taking chances on the base paths early.

With eyes on the title, Nashua put their trust in Bourque. While he didn’t blow away batters- only striking out one in his outing – he stayed aggressive in the zone, forcing soft contact and averaging just over ten pitches an inning. He limited threats by only allowing two hits, while only allowing one runner to get into scoring position the entire game.

“I didn’t feel as good as the first game, so I knew I wasn’t going to have my strikeout stuff,” said Bourque. “I just had to put pitches in good locations and get them to ground out and fly out, and I had really good defense today.”

The finishing blow came in the fifth inning, well after Concord starter Dan Reveleese came out of the game. With reliever Matthew Drewes in for Concord, shortstop Derek Finlay ripped a line drive in the gap past both outfielders as he rounded first for extra bases. Challenging the relay throw, he hustled to third and made it safely for a triple – just as the throw dribbled past the third baseman to the fence. Post Coffey’s bench erupted as Finlay jogged into home plate greeted by his energetic teammates.

“I saw all the boys outside of the dugout and they were all getting rowdy,” said Finlay. “It was just a great feeling.”

With two innings left to play, Nashua had all the momentum, and held it down with ease to snag the Senior Legion title from Concord.

“I have a lot of respect for Tim (Lunn),” said Concord manager John Bly. “They got the standard.”

With the State championship coming to a close, Post Coffey isn’t finished. Despite coaching his way through an undefeated tournament, Lunn acknowledged they will have to make adjustments when they head to the regionals Aug. 2.

For now, Coffey Post will relish off the successful tournament as they hope to bring the same focus and energy to the next level of Legion baseball.