Sanford, Maine
The Nighthawks, playing their fourth elimination game in four days, fell to the Sanford Mainers, 12-2, on Saturday night at Goodall Park in Game 3 of their best-of-three NECBL Northern Division semifinal series.
Despite surviving a doubleheader play-in series and pushing top-seeded Sanford to the brink, Upper Valley’s magical, unlikely playoff run came to an end.
“From a baseball standpoint, it’s tough to play that many games,” Nighthawks outfielder Joey Denison said. “Playing that many games, we’re already a little beat up and little shorthanded. It’s just tough on your pitching when you have to play that many games in a row.
“We handled it like champs,” he added. “We just ran out of steam in the end.”
The Mainers, in front of an announced crowd of 416, advanced to the Northern Division finals with the victory, taking the series 2-1. They will face the Valley Blue Sox, which defeated the North Adams SteepleCats, 4-3, on a wild pitch Saturday, tonight at Goodall Park.
Sanford ran away in the bottom of the fifth inning, loading the bases five times against Nighthawks pitchers Avery Fliger and Joe Levasseur, who entered the game in relief after Fliger walked in a Sanford run. The Mainers amassed four hits and six runs in the inning to turn a two-run Upper Valley deficit into a one-sided affair.
Walker Grisanti, Friday’s Upper Valley hero with a two-run homer, got the Nighthawks’ offense going with yet another home run. over Goodall’s left-field fence, to put Upper Valley on the board. Austin Embler followed up with an RBI single that brought home Lau from third base.
But what hurt Upper Valley down the stretch was its lack of pitching depth and a grueling schedule that left most Nighthawks players exhausted.
“Everyone here played hard,” Nighthawks’ first baseman Charlie Concannon said. “It was obvious that our pitching wasn’t very deep. The guys were burned out. But, I mean, still no excuses. It’s tough on everybody. Hats off to Sanford. They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason.”
It was an effort that Nighthawks manager Nick Cenatiempo was proud of.
“I’m completely proud of these guys. They represented the Upper Valley in a positive way,” he said. “They represented our community and showed a level of toughness that’s real when you’re pushing 90 games in five months.”
For Concannon, who had become one of the fan favorites this season, the loss hurts more for the community they adopted for two months.
“This was a positive experience, for sure,” Concannon said. “The group of guys was definitely the most fun part. We have a lot of experiences on and off the field that we spent together. … This is my summer ball experience, so getting a whole new team, a whole new set of brothers, a whole new set-up. It was a good time.”
For Denison, seeing a different part of the country was a life-changing experience.
“It was awesome to come together with a group of guys, have a good season and make a lot of new friends,” Denison said. “For me, culturing myself a little bit. I’ve never been this far north. … The landscape is so much different than where I’m from. The mountains, the streams and rivers. You don’t see very much of that.”
Nighthawks general manager Noah Crane sat behind the visitor’s dugout for most of Saturday’s game, taking in the action as his team’s inaugural season came to an end.
“It’s frustrating. You don’t want it to come to an end,” Crane said. “As tired as I am and as much as I would like some downtime, you don’t want it to end. I’m going to wake up tomorrow and there’s no baseball. It’s weird how that works.”
Still, Crane knows that the team’s late-season success, particularly Friday’s high-energy playoff victory at Maxfield Sports Complex, will help keep the Nighthawks in people’s minds until next summer, setting the foundation of NECBL baseball in the Upper Valley.
“I think the biggest thing was last night’s game. That was really special,” Crane said. “I think that’s going to stick in people’s minds for a long time. People are going to remember that game.”
Mike Coss, the pitcher from Marist, has already said that he’d like to come back to the Upper Valley next year. The organization’s leadership with GM Crane and manager Cenatiempo, Coss said, impressed him. Knowing that his presence opens up Crane’s relationship with the Red Foxes, Coss said he’ll do what he can to lure some of his teammates to the Nighthawks next summer.
“The main part is Nick and Noah,” he said. “They run a good organization. Noah driving three hours to watch us play. … You want to play for a team where people are going to watch you and people are going to care about you. I think this is one of those organizations.”
Notes: Upper Valley finished its inaugural season 22-27 as the NECBL Northern Division’s fourth playoff seed. … The Nighthawks welcomed an announced total of 10,529 fans for 23 regular season home games and one NECBL playoff home game. … Denison, who led the Nighthawks offensively for most of the regular season, was planning on joining a Cape Cod Baseball League team for a playoff run to end his summer, but he was too late signing up. … Concannon said his torn shirt, which became a must-see at Nighthawks games this season, is something he’ll cherish. “I might wear it down the beach, wear it down the Jersey shore. Who knows?”