WHEN THINGS get tough in life, being around close friends can sometimes ease the burden.

Earlier this week, life took an unexpected, tragic turn for 15-year-old Matt Butkus, a Babe Ruth League pitcher-infielder for Manchester’s Tom Woodlock All-Stars. Early Tuesday morning, his 50-year-old dad, Bob, died at home. Woodlock head coach Lenny Pappas said Bob Butkus’ death was sudden.

“We had a district tournament that started last weekend in Nashua, and Bob, like he always did for Matt’s games, showed up for the first two tournament games on Saturday and Sunday,” Pappas said. “The news of his passing hit everyone like a ton of bricks.”

The bond between Matt and his father was tight. Bob was a dedicated, loving father who coached Matt in Manchester South Little League baseball and in the Manchester South Sabres football program.

According to his obituary, Bob also followed his daughter, Ashley, around the country for various cheerleading competitions.

“Bob really loved his kids,” said Pappas. “I know he was proud of Matt when he played for the Ray Lebel All-Stars in the 13-year-old (Babe Ruth) World Series two years ago. He just enjoyed watching Matt play baseball.”

The Woodlock team learned Tuesday morning that Matt’s dad had died earlier that day.

“It was around 9 o’clock, about three hours after it happened,” said Pappas. “We had scheduled a batting practice at the cages in Nashua, and we had no idea whether Matt was going to show up and play. I mean, under those circumstances the only thing we were concerned about was how Matt was doing.”

At around 2 p.m., two hours before the start of the first district championship game against host Nashua, Matt showed up to take batting practice.

“You could tell by looking at him he was obviously in a state of shock,” said Pappas. “But you could also see that he wanted to be with his friends. I can only imagine what he was feeling inside, but being around his teammates was exactly where he wanted to be.”

Before the game, Pappas said, the tournament director and the umpires who had heard the news asked the fans to stand for a moment of silence in honor of Matt’s dad.

“It was a wonderful thing to do,” said Pappas. “We also had a parent who honored Bob before the game by simply opening a lounge chair and leaving the seat empty the whole game. The chair was placed in an area where Bob had watched the first two games of the tournament.”

The most touching moment, though, was yet to come from Matt.

In his first at-bat, Matt, a burly kid who has a reputation for hitting the ball hard and far, ripped a two-run single that, according to Pappas, got the Woodlocks fired up.

“We just followed his lead and fed off his energy,” said Pappas. “We knew he was locked in.”

Matt came up again in third inning of a 3-3 game and laced a bases-clearing triple to give Manchester the lead for good.

Now, anyone who has ever seen Matt run can tell you he’s not known for his speed. He usually settles for doubles after hitting shots into the gap.

But not this time. Not on the day his dad died.

“I’ve never seen him put it into another gear, but when he got to second base, he just continued on to third without hesitating, and he made it,” said Pappas. “What followed was a moment I’ll never forget as long as I live.”

When Matt reached third, his eyes filled with tears. His body slumped forward as he lowered his head and face into Pappas’ shoulder.

At that moment, it appeared, all the day’s events — his father’s sudden death, seeing his teammates, the pregame moment of silence, the empty chair, the crowd that gave him a standing ovation each time he went to the plate — hit Matt at once.

“I just hugged him and told him we all loved him,” said Pappas. “That whole moment, the entire atmosphere — you just had to be there to see it, to feel it. It’s never easy to lose your father, especially at a young age. But Matty handled the whole situation as well any 15-year-old kid could have. He’s really a special kid.”

Matt, who will be a junior at Manchester Memorial High this fall, ended up with two hits and five RBIs as Manchester beat Nashua, 12-4.

The Woodlocks advanced to the Babe Ruth state tournament, which begins today in Rochester, while the 13-year-olds begin their state tournament in Keene and the 14-year-olds begin state-tournament play at Allard Park in Goffstown.

.

AMERICAN LEGION Post 79 manager Rick Fosher did himself and the program a big favor by offering current Trinity High baseball coach Eddie Poisson an assistant coaching post before this season started in June.

The move was smart on Fosher’s part, considering Poisson has coached current 79ers, Carmen Giampetruzzi (two seasons), Jerry Robinson (four), Nick Beeson (four), Aiden White (two) and Sam Kasten (three) — at the Manchester high school.

Post 79 is off to a strong start. The 79ers , entering tonight’s 7 p.m. home game against Bedford at Gill Stadium, are currently 12-2 overall and 9-2 in the Senior District A-1 standings.

The team is deep in pitching, with Giampetruzzi, Chris Lekkas, J.R. Poissant, Joey Provencher and Zach Mitsopoulis the main contributors.

The 79ers opened the season with nine straight wins, suffered their first loss at Post 21 of Concord last Friday, 3-0, then returned the favor with a 5-4 win against the Capital City team in Manchester the following night.

“What I think the program needed was stability from the coaches,” said Poisson. “Rick had a couple of assistants in recent years who would show up for two or four games and then not show up at all. It hurt the program, and it hurt the kids playing for the program. I accepted the job at Post 79 because I wanted to make sure all of the players were going to get season-long commitments from the coaches.”

On the first day of practice, Poisson said, he made one thing perfectly clear to the players. “I told them this wasn’t Central against Trinity or Derryfield School. Rather, this was Post 79, and we were all in this together. ”

Poisson said he, Fosher and former Post 79 player Billy Allen are building chemistry, with administrators Arthur Bernier and Al Jenkins supporting the club behind the scenes.

“Arthur Bernier is to Post 79 what George Smith is to Sweeney Post,” Poisson, referring to the longtime athletics director at the fellow city Legion post. “Arthur has put his time into the program ever since Guild ‘Bushie’ Hill left, and that’s a long time ago.”

Poisson, who coached American Legion baseball for more than a decade before leaving the circuit 12 years ago, said, “I’m enjoying this season because the players have bought into playing for one team. There’s been no pouting or bickering from the players, and we’ve received great support from our fans. It’s been fun.”

.

MANCHESTER WEST and Bedford are scheduled to play football this fall. It just won’t be on Thanksgiving Day.

“Bedford pulled out. they don’t want to play West on the holiday” said Dave Gosselin, athletics director for the city’s public schools. “That’s all I know. They’re still going to play West during the regular season, and that’s fine with us.”

Bedford football coach Kurt Hines confirmed the news and said his Division II program wanted to wait until 2013 to decide which opponent to play on Thanksgiving Day.

“In 2013, we’re supposed to move up to Division I under the new (NHIAA) football alignment, and we decided we’d wait another year to make a decision on our Thanksgiving Day opponent for 2013 and beyond,” said Hines. “We’re still playing West this fall, and it’s our homecoming game. Our decision to not play West on Thanksgiving Day had nothing to do with West.”

Hines mentioned that Bedford may prefer seeking a Thanksgiving Day opponent that his program doesn’t play during the regular season.

Bedford, a Division III program last season, will join West in the Division II ranks this year. In 2013, both programs will be in Division I.

“Playing a division team (on Thanksgiving Day) could mean there’s a chance we could end up playing that team three times during the season if you include regular season, the playoffs and the holiday game,” said Hines.

Bedford wants its Thanksgiving game to be unique.

“Our goal is to build a Thanksgiving Day rivalry with one team for a long period of time,” Hines said.

Gosselin said he will continue to use the point-rating system, which was approved by the Manchester school board last year, to determine the holiday opponents among the four city teams for this season’s Queen City Thanksgiving Day game at Gill Stadium. Last year, Division I Central and Division IV state champion Trinity played in the game, won by the Little Green, 37-26.

.

“City Sports” appears Saturdays in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email him at jhabib@unionleader.com.