White River Junction
Verdonk did just that, giving the Nighthawks four innings of shutout ball in a 6-4 win on Saturday night in front of an announced home attendance of 482 at Maxfield Sports Complex.
The offense responded with 13 hits and six runs in the final five innings, three nights after the Hawks amassed only two hits and no runs against their new in-state rivals. In the process, Upper Valley (1-1) put together its first win in team history in dramatic fashion.
“The only thing on my mind was that I wanted to do better than the pitchers before,” said Verdonk, who hails from the Netherlands. “They gave up four runs. I just wanted to keep a shutout and give the offense a chance to get more runs and get the win the game. … I didn’t expect this. This was crazy.”
Grayson Padgett, a late addition to the team from the University of Houston, led the way with three hits and three runs scored, including a two-out single in the sixth inning to wake up Upper Valley’s offense.
“I felt comfortable at the plate,” Padgett said. “I think that’s the most important thing.”
Padgett missed the Nighthawks’ first two practices early last week and was on the bench for the team’s 2-0 loss at Vermont on opening night. Getting started offensively so early, he said, particularly in his Nighthawks debut, does wonders to his confidence.
“The past couple of days, we got to working on what we were doing wrong in the first game,” said assistant coach Matt Lynch, sitting in for head coach Nick Cenatiempo, who was attending a friend’s wedding. “Some of it was the wood bats, some of it was the cold. But some of it was our approached. We changed it. We got our hands right.”
Verdonk entered the game in relief of Cincinnati’s Jarod Yoakam and the University of Bridgeport’s Dakota Edwards, who put the Nighthawks in a deep hole in the first two innings.
Edwards, a Turlock, Calif. native, made it only 2 innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs and four walks in his Nighthawks debut. He loaded the bases in the first inning, giving up an RBI single to Gabe Levanti in the second and another three runs with one out in the third before Lynch finally pulled the plug.
“I don’t know. Mechanic-wise, I felt fine,” Edwards said. “My pitches were moving like they were supposed to, my arm just got tired, got to me. I’m feeling those 90 innings from season (at Bridgeport. He threw 81 innings in 19 appearances.)
“I took two weeks off and I thought it would be enough,” he added. “Clearly, I don’t think two weeks off was enough.”
Yoakam entered the game in relief in the third, allowing another run to score before forcing the Mountaineers into a double play to end the inning. Verdonk pitched the fourth, slowing things down to a crawl.
“I like that way better. You have way more control,” Verdonk said of his slow approach to pitching. “I’m in my own rhythm.”
Speedy outfielder Alex Hanson scored the Nighthawks’ first run in franchise history, leading off the third inning with a double to right field before scoring on an RBI from shortstop Matt Maul.
Getting on the board for the first time this season, admittedly, started to swing momentum in Upper Valley’s favor. The Nighthawks scored again in the fourth off an RBI from Charlie Concannon and twice in the sixth to tie the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, Maul scored the go-ahead run off an RBI double from Trent Leimkuehler to help Upper Valley take its first lead in team history.
The Nighthawks added insurance in the eighth off an RBI double from second baseman Sean Breen, of Iona College, who replaced starter Grayson Byrd in the sixth inning after the Clemson product was bothered with a back injury. Breen was 2-2 with an RBI coming off the bench.
Byrd has played shortstop and second base in two games for the Nighthawks, but his status for tonight’s game vs. Winnipesaukee was uncertain Saturday night.
For Lynch and the Nighthawks’ offense, it was exactly the kind of offensive display it’s been expecting. On paper, Upper Valley is littered with strong hitters coming off of relatively successful spring seasons in college baseball. While pitching is still a question mark, particularly after Edwards’ tough outing and the fact that the Nighthawks have used nine pitchers in two games so far this season, Lynch was pleased that the team was able to shake off the offensive cobwebs.
“It was awesome,” Lynch said. “And I’m more of a practice guy. When we got after it, we really got after it.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or at 603-727-3306.