White River Junction
Valley has historically given the Nighthawks trouble; Upper Valley entered Friday’s contest with only one win in seven contests all-time against the Blue Sox, the most recent a three-run loss at Valley’s Mackenzie Stadium on June 22. Then there is Valley’s pesky penchant for staying too close for comfort in the Northern Division standings and not succumb like the rest of the North seems to have done.
That changed in front of an announced crowd of 411 thanks to a four-run third inning and another strong mound start from Bloomsburg University’s Ashton Raines in a 7-2 victory at Maxfield Sports Complex, the Nighthawks’ fifth straight win.
“It’s been a long time since we played them,” Szafarski said. “For us to come out that way and get a win tonight, in pretty big fashion, beating them by five runs, this kind of sets the tone for the weekend, for me, having to play them twice (on Sunday). It gives us a little bit more breathing room where, if you drop this one, you almost feel like you have to win one of those games, if not two of those games.”
Two scheduled games on the road against the Blue Sox — on June 30 and July 7 — had been rained out; the North’s top two squads will make both up in a doubleheader at Mackenzie on Sunday.
Word around the Upper Valley dugout suggested that Valley might have been worried about another meeting with the power-hitting Nighthawks (21-8). If that was the case, the Blue Sox (15-11) may have been right to worry.
“These guys are right behind us in the standings,” Raines said. “This was obviously a big game. To come out of it, 7-2, just shows that we can take it to them in a couple of days.”
Things started going south for the Blue Sox four pitches into the first inning, a fastball that was popped up into right field by Upper Valley leadoff hitter Matt Sanders (Troy) and dropped by Valley outfielder Nate Soria (Xavier).
It was Valley’s first and only error of the game, but Anthony Godino (Wagner) made the visitors pay with an RBI groundout to put Upper Valley up, 1-0.
“They gave us one in the first, and we didn’t look back from there,” Godino said.
The Nighthawks piled on four more runs in the fourth inning, starting off with a two-run double into left field by Southern Mississippi’s Luke Reynolds, his sixth double of the summer. Al Molina (Seton Hall), the next batter, plated Reynolds with an RBI single into right field. Cade Sorrells (Lipscomb) later delivered Molina from second base, putting the Nighthawks up 6-0 after three innings.
It was all the offense Raines needed. He allowed seven hits, one run, one walk and recorded one strikeout in six innings of work. The junior is now 4-0 for Upper Valley with a 1.40 ERA.
“Honestly, on any other team (Raines) is an ace,” Szafarski said. “You know what you’re going to get out of him day in and day out. Not necessarily a big strikeout guy, but a guy that is going to get you six innings and limit runs, limit base runners, limit walks. That’s all you can ask from your starting pitcher.”
Upper Valley added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh. Sorrells finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Ryan Jeffers (North Carolina-Wilmington) was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Frankie Gregoire (Marist) was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch for the seventh time this season, second only to the Newport Gulls’ Liam O’Regan (Elon), who has been plunked eight times.
The Hawks also impressed with an errorless game in the field.
“They played really good defense,” said Valley coach John Raiola. “When you think about some of the more successful teams in the league, they either pitch really well or hit really well. (The Nighthawks) do that as well. But tonight, they were really good defensively; they came up with some big hits.”
Friday’s win was the beginning of an important stretch for Upper Valley that, in the end, could help define its summer.
The Nighthawks travel to the Southern Division-leading Ocean State Waves today, face the Blue Sox in a doubleheader at Mackenzie on Sunday and travel to Recreation Field on Monday for another meeting with the Vermont Mountaineers and a chance to clinch the Governor’s Cup, given to the winner of the season series between the two Green Mountain squads.
By Tuesday, Upper Valley could have a win over a likely NECBL championship foe, the team’s first-ever win in Holyoke, Mass., and a milk-can trophy in hand.
“Whenever you play a team close to you in the standings, there’s a little bit more pressure,” Godino said. “But we try to treat every game the same. It was really nice to beat (Valley); it gives us a little bit more separation.
“We do a really good job … nothing ever feels different or pressure. Nobody’s really tight. You just come out, we play, we come out and we do our thing. That’s it.”
Notes: Upper Valley was given bad news before Friday’s game, as Southern Mississippi infielder Matt Guidry was diagnosed with a wrist injury that could end his summer season. Guidry has been a consistent presence for the Nighthawks since he arrived in mid-June, racking up a .345 batting average with 20 hits, 13 runs, six doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs in 17 games. Nighthawks general manager Noah Crane said Guidry would be re-examined again in the next few days, but the possibility remains that his summer season could be done. … Godino sent a broken bat flying over the home dugout and beyond the storage shed in the sixth inning. It landed near the adjacent softball field at Maxfield before shattering into pieces. … Justin Fowler (Dartmouth), Tanner Schimmoeller (Cincinnati) and Will Carnley (Troy) all took part in a wheelbarrow race between the fourth and fifth innings. Schimmoeller won by a few steps. … Charlie Sheehan (Saint Louis, 1-2, 6.00 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Upper Valley tonight at Ocean State’s Old Mountain Field.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.