Montpelier
Layne, a sophomore from Seton Hall who redshirted last season with the Pirates, gave up two hits and two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Wednesday, breaking open a scoreless game for the hometown Vermont Mountaineers and spoiling the New England Collegiate Baseball League debut of the Upper Valley Nighthawks with a 2-0 loss to their new cross-state rivals at Montpelier Recreation Field.
“A lot of butterflies. It’s tough to calm nerves, you know?” Layne said. “First game of the season in a big-time spot, you haven’t thrown in over a year. I was expecting to be a little shaky, but it is what it is.”
Layne hit the low 90s on the speed gun, throwing 94 mph twice in the inning. But at times his power was sacrificed for control. Layne walked Vermont’s David Lett, hit Gabe Levanti two batters later and allowed two straight RBI singles to J.T. Pittman and Mike Osinski for the game’s only runs.
“I was getting amped up,” Layne said. “When I get amped up, I tend to leave my fastball up. … When you throw too hard, you tend to lose a little control.
“It’s obviously disappointing. Tie ballgame, team is working their butts off to get the first win for this franchise. But you have the rest of the summer to go.”
Still, Nighthawks head coach Nick Cenatiempo was happy with the way his team played, specifically the way his pitchers performed. Upper Valley gave up only four hits in nine innings and recorded six strikeouts.
La Salle’s Luke Reilly started the game, pitching four innings for the Nighthawks. He recorded two strikeouts and gave up no hits and one walk. It was the bases on ball that really bugged him.
“I was really, really mad at myself for giving up that walk in the first inning,” he said. “That’s usually uncharacteristic of me, especially in the first inning. I was a little jittery, but on the bus ride here I was just listening to some calming music. Trying to enjoy the scenery outside and treat it like any other game.”
Marist’s Mike Coss entered the game in relief in the fifth inning for the Hawks, getting himself in trouble in the seventh with Mountaineer runners on second and third base. The situation, one out and two runners on in a scoreless game, left Cenatiempo with his first big decision of the season.
“That situation was tough because I was going back and forth whether to leave Mike (Coss) in or just four-pitch walk and letting him work with the bases loaded,” Cenatiempo said. “But sometimes you put more pressure on the hitter by bringing the infield in in that situation. That’s what I did.”
He went with Nick Jones, a sidearm specialist from Kansas State, to throw off Vermont’s momentum. Jones struck out the first batter and walked the second, loading the bases. But Jones forced the Mountaineers’ Davis Feldman, normally a pitcher but manning the outfield on Wednesday, to hit a slow ground ball to third to end the inning.
For Cenatiempo and the Nighthawks, getting out of a tight defensive jam early in the season illustrated just what the Upper Valley defense is capable of.
“In the end, like I said to the guys before the game, I just want them to compete,” Cenatiempo said. “You’ve got to compete. It’s opening day. You have to compete. I was happy with the effort.”
If only the offense had caught up. Upper Valley managed only two hits on Wednesday, both against Vermont reliever Joey Benetiz, and left four runners on base. The first hit, a bloop to shallow left center field by Troy (Ala.) University’s Joey Denison, went down as the first in Nighthawks history, though Denison was disappointed with it.
“I thought I had two really good at-bats,” he said. “I thought my worst at-bat was the one that I got the hit on, honestly. … It was off the end of the bat. I was up 1-0, and I hit the ball off the end of the bat a little bit.”
Alex Hanson, of St. Petersburg (Fla.) College, provided Upper Valley’s other hit in the eighth inning.
Cenatiempo knows the offense will come eventually. Most of his guys are getting used to the environment and, more importantly, the NECBL’s wooden bats, which Denison said makes a huge difference.
“A lot of the guys have been off for a week or two weeks since their last game, getting used to the wood bats,” Denison said. “That’s a big difference, huge difference. Normally (the bats) are heavy, and if you don’t hit it on the sweet spot, they’re not going to do anything. With a metal bat, you have some room for error.”
Before the season, Nighthawks general manager Noah Crane wanted to win the first game, the first home game and make the playoffs. While the first goal has now gone and passed, the Nighthawks are now a little bit more confident with a game under their belts.
Better yet, they get another crack at Vermont on Saturday when the Nighthawks host their first home game at Maxfield Sports Complex.
“I think we were pressing a little bit because it’s the first game, it’s away,” Reilly said. “This is a really nice, good environment. I think the next couple of games will be a lot better offensively. And we played really well defensively, which is awesome.”
Notes: The University of Bridgeport’s Dakota Edwards will get the start in the Nighthawks first home game on Saturday. Edwards amassed a 4.32 ERA and a 6-7 record in 19 appearances this spring. He also allowed a team-high 101 hits and gave up 55 runs in 81 innings, recording 71 strikeouts along the way. … On the bus ride to Montpelier, Nighthawks players admired the amount of trees along the side of the highway. … Game time for Saturday’s home opener is 6:30 p.m.