North Adams, Mass. — The Upper Valley Nighthawks dropped their fourth straight New England Collegiate Baseball League game on Monday night, done in by North Adams bats and ill-timed errors in a 12-1 loss to the SteepleCats at Joe Wolfe Field.

North Adams (12-9) built a 7-0 lead through five innings and closed with a five-spot in the eighth to make things academic. The victory came before a crowd of 5,162, one of the largest in the NECBL this season.

The Nighthawks (9-12) haven’t won since taking the first half of a doubleheader at the Mystic Schooners last Wednesday.

Ryan Takacs (Manhattan) took the loss for Upper Valley, surrendering four runs (three earned) over four innings.

The SteepleCats broke onto the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the third inning, both coming with two outs. Edward Haus (St. Mary’s, Calif.) delivered the key blow with a two-run double.

North Adams plated two more in the fourth with the help of an Upper Valley error. Nick Riotto (Penn State) drove in one run with a ground out, while a second came home when Nighthawks shortstop Matt Moul mishandled a grounder from the SteepleCats’ Dustin Shirley (Dartmouth).

Two more Upper Valley errors produced three unearned runs in the fifth for the 7-0 cushion. North Adams used five hits for its five-run eighth.

Upper Valley’s only run came in the top of the ninth inning, as Walker Gristani’s RBI single delivered Al Molina to end the hosts’ shutout bid. Ryan Tapp threw six shutout innings to get the win for North Adams.

The Nighthawks will try to end their slide when they host the Newport (R.I.) Gulls tonight at the Maxfield Sports Complex. Lefty Luke Reilly (La Salle) is expected to get the start for Upper Valley in the 6:30 p.m. contest.