The Kingsmen entered the season hoping to make a return trip to the playoffs and win a playoff game. They ended up winning two. Keeping that perspective helped take a bit of the sting out of the Concord Christian Academy baseball team’s 5-3 loss to No. 6 Woodsville (14-5) in Tuesday evening’s Division IV baseball quarterfinal. 

No. 7 Concord Christian (13-6) was playing in its first final four since the program started nine years ago. 

CCA took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when junior Connor Faherty (2-for-4) singled home senior TJ Charbono, but Woodsville scored three in the bottom half to take a 3-1 lead.

Freshman Jackson Barton had an RBI in the top of the second, scoring fellow freshman Ethan Lemay to cut the Engineers’ lead to 3-2, but Jacob Putnam (3-for-3, two runs, two RBI) and Landon Kingsbury (2-for-3, two doubles, two RBI) hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the third gave Woodsville a 5-2 lead. Freshman Andrew Doyle scored on a ground out by eighth grader Grady St. Jean for the Kingsmen’s final run in the top of the third and the game was scoreless the rest of the way.

“Super proud of this team. We came a long way,” first-year head coach Josh McAllister said. “I saw a lot of improvement in all the players. A couple plays here and there could’ve led to a different outcome. We knew we’d have to play a clean game. In the first inning we made some mistakes, but kept the game close. Proud of the effort tonight.”

After getting bounced in the preliminary round of the D-IV playoffs last year, and with only one senior and one junior on the roster, McAllister had modest goals for the team in his first season. But Concord Christian took its game to another level in the last couple of weeks, finishing the regular season 11-5, besting No. 10 Littleton in the prelims and upsetting No. 2 Mascenic, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.

“The last two weeks have been so much fun,” McAllister said. “We peaked at the perfect time. We’ve been playing our best baseball, it’s what led us to the semis.”

McAllister also credits his coaching staff, including assistant Mike Syvertson, who started the CCA baseball program nine years ago and served as the head coach for eight years. Tom Charbono and Josh Funk also serve as assistant coaches.

The Kingsmen will feel the loss of their lone senior – Division IV Pitcher of the Year TJ Charbono – very deeply, but McAllister is encouraged by what he is seeing from his players across the board.

“We’ve got some kids who have played a lot of baseball, but others who have only played a year or two of baseball and played in every game for us,” McAllister said. “The improvement I saw was impressive. … Putting (the season) in perspective, we accomplished more than we set out to do.”