Harwich saves best for last

BRAINTREE -- Throughout the postseason, Harwich has competed with the knowledge that each game could be the last for coach Fred Thacher. The longtime baseball coach will hang it up after the season, ending a 20-year career.

It could have happened in the South quarterfinals against Cardinal Spellman, but the Rough Riders prevailed, 2-1. The same in the South final against Bourne, but James Hamilton's dominating performance on the mound led Harwich to a 2-0 win.

After an 8-1 win over Tyngsboro yesterday in the EMass final, Thacher and his Rough Riders know for certain when the last game of his illustrious career will be -- Saturday in the Division 3 state final at Lowell.

"Great win for Coach," said Hamilton, who played left field yesterday. "We want him to go out with a victory."

Despite the significance of the win, Thacher insisted the game was really quite effortless on his end.

"This is one of those games when the coach just sits there and the guys go out and play baseball," said Thacher, who guided the Rough Riders to their second straight state final.

It took Harwich (18-7) until the bottom of the third inning, and trailing 1-0, to awaken. Pitcher Chris Bailey singled in Hamilton for the last of three runs in an inning in which eight Harwich batters face Tyngsboro starter Mark Lane.

The lefthander settled down with a 1-2-3 fourth inning, striking out two, but in the fifth, the top of the Rough Riders' order blew the game open.

Connor Burnham opened with a double down the third-base line. Nik Gallerani followed with a bunt single that put runners on the corners with no outs and slugger Hamilton coming to the plate. He singled in Burnham, and both he and Gallerani later came around in the inning, stretching the Harwich lead to 6-1.

"This team is vicious once it gets going," said Thacher, assessing the team's offensive attitude.

And while the Harwich bats gave Bailey a comfortable cushion, there were also impressive plays on defense that stifled any hopes of a Tiger comeback. In the top of the fifth, with Tyngsboro (17-8) trailing only 3-1, Keith Johansen led off with a single. But Bailey picked him off at first, then followed with two strikeouts to end the inning. Harwich right fielder Ryan St. Pierre opened the sixth with a diving catch, robbing Colin Halloran of extra bases.

"You could bank on our defense today," said Thacher. "We've got a lot of athletes out there."

Hamilton finished 4 for 4, with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Bailey finished with five strikeouts and allowed five hits through seven innings.

"We wanted Chris to go out there with a comfortable lead," said Hamilton, who will be handed the ball in the state final. "We didn't want him to think he had to go out there and do it all himself."

Thacher acknowledges that another state title game is little comfort knowing it will serve as his last in charge of the Rough Riders.

"I don't even want to think about that, I love these kids too much," said Thacher. "That's a very difficult thing for me. I had a speech already made up. I was thinking of what I would say to these guys if this was our last game."

The speech can wait until Saturday at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.