Laconia, n.h.
Cadena’s solo shot, his second bomb of the season on an 0-1 pitch to lead-off the inning, broke a 5-5 tie and put the Hawks ahead for good. The Wichita State sophomore was 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in the victory, extending his hit streak to four games. It also improved the Nighthawks to 17-15 overall with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Nighthawks starter Danny Wirchansky (Pace) struggled in his third start, allowing seven hits and four runs — three earned — and a walk over three innings. Winnipesaukee (8-24) led 5-1 after four innings before Upper Valley mounted a comeback.
Austin Wilhite (Georgia Tech) got the Nighthawks rolling in the fifth, scoring on an error with two outs. Davis Mikell (Castleton)’s two RBI double with the bases loaded later in the inning cut the Muskrats’ lead to one run, driving in Greg Hardison (UNC-Greensboro) and Anthony Quirion (Lamar) on a double. Cadena was caught trying to score on the play, which ended the inning.
Upper Valley tied things up in the sixth, a sac fly to left field by Riley Smith (Minnesota) that scored Matt Tarabek (Fordham) from third base. Cadena’s solo shot two innings later proved to be the difference.
Wes Bucher (West Georgia) entered the game for Wichansky in the fourth inning, allowing a run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 1⅓ innings. But Stephen Hansen (Iona) stopped the bleeding with his best performance of the summer, allowing one hit while striking out three over the next 3⅔ innings. Jordy Allard (SNHU) allowed no hits and no walks in the ninth to preserve the victory.
Upper Valley has Tuesday off before hosting the North Adams SteepleCats on Wednesday at the Maxfield Sports Complex. Jordan DiValerio (Saint Joseph’s) is scheduled to make his second start of the summer.