The Mt. Monadnock Little League 10U All-Stars won the Matty Dobens tournament held at Precourt Park in Manchester, compiling an overall 6-1 record over the three-week span.

The team went 2-1 in pool play to garner the fifth seed for bracket play. Mt. Monadnock then went 4-0 in bracket play to claim the championship.

In the first round, Mt. Monadnock beat fourth-seed Derry 8-2, as Porter Krook (10) and Spencer Hill (four) combined for 14 strikeouts. Next was an 11-8 victory over undefeated and top seed North Manchester Hooksett blue. Cooper Aho (nine) and Hill (six) combined for 15 strikeouts.

In the semifinal, Mt. Monadnock beat undefeated No. 2 seed North Manchester Hooksett red by a 12-6 margin. in semifinal Aho has seven strikeouts, Hill had four and Krook had one.

In the final, Mt. Monadnock beat third-seeded Bedford 6-2 behind a strong excellent defensive effort.

Krook was named MVP of the tournament for his pitching performance in the championship game, which included six innings with eight strikeouts and two earned runs.

12U team wins Briggs tourney

The Mt. Monadnock Little League 12U All-Stars won the Michael Briggs wooden bat tournament held at Precourt Park in Manchester with a 7-2 overall record.

The team went 2-1 in pool play to earn the third seed for bracket play, and then went 5-1 in bracket play. The team played five games in six days the final week, including a doubleheader for the semifinal and championship games.

Pitching and defense was the key to the championship,as Mt. Monadnock had a deep pitching staff that included Isaiah Luhtjarv and Liam Falter earning two wins each. Logan Temple, Jeremiah Luhtjarv and Kayden Obara also earned wins, with Obara’s win coming in the championship game, Wes Seppala earned the save in the seventh inning of the championship game.

The offense was driven by consistent hitting from Chandler Ketola, Temple, Isaiah Luhtjarv and Conner Primeau. Among the offensive highlights was Mackenzie Hoard’s bases-clearing hit for a walkoff playoff victory against host Manchester Little League.

Faced with a doubleheader against Goffstown in the semifinal and undefeated Bedford in the championship round, tournament MVP Isaiah Luhtjarv caught 11 of the 13 innings played.

In the championship game, Mt. Monadnock took an early lead but nearly lost it in the bottom half of the first inning. With one out and the bases loaded,  Falter entered the game in relief and got two quick outs to end the inning without a run scoring.

Falter pitched three more innings in relief, only allowing one earned run.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bedford had the bases loaded and no outs, but Obara induced three consecutive outs, with runners cut down at the plate trying to score on ground balls.

The teams traded runs in the sixth inning to force the game to extra innings. Timely and disciplined hitting by the bottom of the Mt. Monadnock order drew three walks and an infield single to score two runs and build a 7-5 lead.

In the bottom half of the seventh, Bedford scored one run to cut the lead to 7-6. With runners at first and second, Seppala induced a ground ball to Temple at shortstop, who tagged the runner trying to advance to third and made a throw to first to complete the game-ending double play.