Jason Nickerson and his 2-year old son, Nolan, strike similar poses Sunday while enjoying maple syrup-flavored popcorn at the Upper Valley Nighthawks game at White River Junction’s Maxfield Sports Complex. The Bethel, Vt., residents were among a crowd of roughly 200 that took in the New England Collegiate Baseball League team’s second home game, a 7-2 defeat of the visiting Winnipesaukee Muskrats.
Jason Nickerson and his 2-year old son, Nolan, strike similar poses Sunday while enjoying maple syrup-flavored popcorn at the Upper Valley Nighthawks game at White River Junction’s Maxfield Sports Complex. The Bethel, Vt., residents were among a crowd of roughly 200 that took in the New England Collegiate Baseball League team’s second home game, a 7-2 defeat of the visiting Winnipesaukee Muskrats. Credit: Valley News — Tris Wykes

White River Junction — Bill Maier pounded his glove in the top of the seventh inning, watching Winnipesaukee Muskrats batter Jimmy Galusky’s deep shot to right-center field land in between right fielder Trent Leimkuehler and center fielder Alex Hanson. An easy hit for sure, he thought.

But Galusky inexplicably rounded first base and tried to reach second. Shortstop Matt Maul made the easy tag for the inning’s first out.

Maier, who had paced around the pitcher’s mound in frustration, let out a visible sigh of relief.

A Toms River, N.J., native, Maier was the story all afternoon as the Nighthawks (2-1) defeated Winnipesaukee, 7-2, at the Maxfield Sports Complex, taking down general manager Noah Crane’s former team for their second straight victory. A senior at Iona College, Maier went a season-high seven innings for Upper Valley, recording two strikeouts and retiring 12 straight batters for a stretch after the second inning.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Maier said. “I did everything I wanted to do.”

Upper Valley used a committee of nine pitchers in its first two games, including five in the team’s 6-4 win against the Vermont Mountaineers on Saturday, when Upper Valley’s Dakota Edwards failed to make it out of the third inning. Maier’s seven-inning workload, particularly from a starter, was just what Nighthawks manager Nick Cenatiempo was looking for.

“The most important thing was Bill Maier,” Cenatiempo said. “I was really happy with his performance today.

“We were only planning on using him four or five (innings),” he added. “But the fact that we worked him longer was because his pitch count was so low. … He was cruising. He was really in control out there; we were really happy with that.”

The Nighthawks took advantage of Winnipesaukee’s steady stream of pitchers Sunday night, all of whom struggled to throw strikes in the cold temperatures that descended on Maxfield. Muskrats starter, Cameron Burt failed to get out of the first inning, giving up three runs on two hits and four walks. Winnipesaukee’s five pitchers combined for 10 walks and three hit batters. The Nighthawks added another run in the second inning, putting themselves up, 4-0, in front of an announced home crowd of 200.

“I think it kind of crossed over from yesterday’s game,” Leimkuehler said. “We had like 13 or 14 hits yesterday, so we were all gearing to go. You play those games where pitchers can’t throw strikes, you kind of just have to wait for your pitch, wait for that opportunity to get your bat on the ball. We did that.”

Upper Valley added an insurance run in the seventh, though it cost them an injury to starting outfielder Leimkuehler. The Saint Louis University senior slipped and stumbled running down the first-base line on a ground ball, landing awkwardly on his left leg. He was down in obvious pain for several minutes before walking back to the Nighthawks’ dugout on his own power.

Leimkuehler has been one of Upper Valley’s better hitters in its two-game winning streak. He was 3-for-4 on Sunday with two runs scored and was batting .417 on the season before going down.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Cenatiempo said.

The Nighthawks’ Grayson Padgett continued his hot hand as the designated hitter on Sunday, adding a run and a walk in four at-bats. Sean Breen, the second baseman from Iona, had a hit, three RBIs, a run and two walks, staking his claim in an outfield that was missing Clemson’s Grayson Byrd after he sustained a back injury on Saturday.

Charlie Concannon and Alex Hanson each had two hits for Upper Valley in the victory. Manhattan College’s Ryan Takacs and St. Joseph’s Brian Lau pitched one inning each in relief. Takacs allowed two hits, two runs and two walks in the eighth, the Muskrats only offense of the night.

“I was happy in the first inning,” Cenatiempo said. “But after that, I thought we got a little complacent at times. I thought we weren’t having quality at-bats like we were in the first inning. We started to shy away from it.”

The Nighthawks left 14 runners on base.

For Maier, this season for the Nighthawks is, to some extent, a chance at redemption. He was 0-9 in 13 games started for the Gaels this spring, amassing a 7.66 ERA, 30 strikeouts and a team-high 73 runs and 106 hits. In one start thus far, Maier is perfect.

More importantly, Maier’s near-flawless outing has given Cenatiempo a much better idea of his pitching staff. Of the Nighthawks 15 pitchers, Cenatiempo has seen 12 in action. With the New Bedford Bay Sox coming to town on Tuesday, chances are good the Nighthawks won’t have to wait long to see the rest. And that’s without Seton Hall’s pitcher Cullen Dana, who is still on his way.

“It’s definitely huge to get out there and have a good outing,” Maier said. “I had a rough year; just to kind of clear it and start fresh for summer and keep on track.”

Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or at 603-727-3306.