By Matt Stout
Staff Writer

Auburn’s Matt Skeffington is mobbed by Memorial fans following the Crusaders’ 5-4, extra-inning win over Bishop Guertin for the Class L baseball championship. Skeffington went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. (Hooksett Banner/Bruce Preston)

Matt Skeffington said he waited his entire life for the moment: tie game, two on, two out in the bottom of the seventh inning of the the Class L state title game.

Forget his 18 years on Earth -- the moment is one millions of kids dream of, the type of situation where greatness is defined.

And Skeffington, the senior shortstop for the Manchester Memorial baseball team, was indeed deemed great, even if the only indication was the umpire’s instructions to take first base.

In what was the game’s most crucial moment Tuesday, June 14, at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, Bishop Guertin gave Skeffington, an Auburn native, that ultimate sign of respect when coach Mike Lozeau decided to intenionally walk him.

Though the next batter flied out to strand him, it didn’t stop Skeffington, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, or Memorial from taking the crown with a 5-4 win in the ninth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, BG relief pitcher Austin Sullivan plunked Tom Burke on his 100th pitch, pushing the winning run across in the most anticlimactic of fashions.

The title was the program’s seventh, its first since 1998.

“It finally came,” Skeffington said of the opportunity. “But I’ll take it.”

Besides the walk, Skeffington had his hand in almost every game-changing play, including a four-run first inning.

As for the free pass?

“I thought it was a smart move,” Memorial coach Don Menswar said with a laugh.