The one-win ConVal baseball team is nearing the end of a difficult season, and during Monday’s 15-5 loss to visiting Lebanon, head coach Matt Harris had to let his “rough edge” show.

After a disastrous top of the third that saw the Raiders score six times on four ConVal errors, Harris addressed his boys gruffly, advising them to find their focus and play with some pride and fire.

“Usually, I’ll do my coaching and yelling in practice, but in that situation, I felt like something had to happen,” Harris said. “We needed to change the energy. In that inning, off the top of my head, we gave them eight outs. You can’t do that on any level of baseball. That was the difference in the game.”

The Cougars responded well, scoring quickly in the bottom half on a single from senior center fielder Joe Gutwein (2-2, RBI, run) and adding three more in the fourth, when singles from senior Wyatt Beaulieu (2-2, RBI, run), junior Justin Borges (3-3, run), senior Brady Carpentiere (1-3, RBI, run) and sophomore Kai Reitnauer (1-2, RBI) chased Leb starter Dawson Bates and pushed across four runs.

“They turned it around. We started scoring, we started hitting,” Harris said. 

ConVal starter David Murray lasted 2.2 innings and allowed four earned runs before giving way to Liam O’Mahony, who went another three innings, surrendering three earned runs and keeping the Cougars in the game as best he could.

“They’re not going to overpower anybody, but they are going to hit their spots,” Harris said. 

But the Raider offense was just too persistent, forcing ConVal to make play after play with their trademark aggressive baserunning. Usual Cougar catcher Henry Hartwell had the day off for rest, so ConVal turned to utility man Justin Borges behind the plate for the first time this season; Borges has now played every infield position but first this season. 

Lebanon prides themselves on stealing bases, and with speedy center fielder Nick Brill (2-4, RBI, two runs, eight stolen bases) leading the way, the Raiders piled it on, swiping 18 bags in the game. The swirling 25 mph winds played havoc on high pop flies and assisted Zach Aldrich on a fifth-inning solo homer before Lebanon put together a six-run sixth and won by the 10-run rule.

ConVal is now 1-12 on the season, eliminated from postseason contention after starting the year on a nine-game losing streak. The Cougars have underperformed expectations this season, but have maintained a positive spirit, keeping it light in the dugout and keeping their heads up on the field. 

“I knew it was going to be a tough year,” Harris said. “I knew I was going to have a lot of young guys in key spots. Did I think we were going to be this far down? No. On a positive note, they’re battling, they’re working. Every day, even after this loss, they are going to come tomorrow and get after it, get to work. That’s the big positive, they come ready to work. All these boys love the game and they want to work and get better.”

ConVal’s final home game is Friday at 4 p.m. against John Stark; they’ll travel to Bow and Milford next week to close out the season. 

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