WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Upper Valley Nighthawks have placed their first alumnus in the Boston Red Sox organization.
St. Joseph’s University pitcher Jordan DiValerio signed an undrafted college free-agent contract with the Sox on Sunday. He was the first former Nighthawk to take advantage of the situation caused by the decrease of the annual Major League Baseball draft from 40 rounds to five last week.
As of Sunday morning, MLB teams were allowed to sign as many undrafted college players as they wished, with a maximum signing bonus of $20,000 per player. The draft was reduced in a cost-cutting move with all levels of professional baseball sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic.
A senior right-hander from Nescopeck, Pa., DiValerio starred over two summers with the Nighthawks and was on the roster to return this season had the New England Collegiate Baseball League not canceled its campaign because of the coronavirus. He made the NECBL All-Star Game in both years, posting a 3-2 record with 48 strikeouts and a 2.49 earned-run average in 2019. That followed a 2018 stay with Upper Valley that netted a 3-1 mark and 34 strikeouts with a 2.56 ERA.
DiValerio had four appearances, all starts, during St. Joe’s virus-shortened spring season, going 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA. His four-year record with the Atlantic 10 program included a 10-10 record, 149 strikeouts in 145 innings pitched and a career 3.97 ERA.
Eleven Nighthawks have been selected in the MLB draft over the past four years, the most recent coming last week when Troy pitcher Levi Thomas went in the fourth round to the San Diego Padres.
LEBANON — The ongoing relaxation of the state’s stay-at-home orders has ensured that the newly formed Upper Valley Anglers baseball team will begin its season on time, starting Monday.
The Anglers, a U19 squad of area high school players in the one-year New Hampshire COVID Baseball League, began practices two weeks ago. The Anglers open their season at Eldredge Memorial Park on Monday against Exeter in the first of a 20-game schedule
In the meantime, an Upper Valley U17 team is being put together because of the number of players expressing interest, team organizer Pete St. Pierre said in a weekend email.
That squad hasn’t finalized a league or schedule yet but is expecting to open play before the end of the month.
CLAREMONT — Jimmy Renfrew took the 30-lap Street Stock main event to highlight Friday’s racing at Claremont Motorsports Park in its final spectator-free event of the season.
Renfrew made easy work of the field in his feature, building a huge early lead and holding off three restarts over the final six laps for the win. Other feature victories went to Zach Richardson (Pure Stocks), Jeremy Blood (Six Shooters), Matt Gauffin (Enduro) and Louis Maher (Mini Stocks).
With New Hampshire loosening coronavirus restrictions on some larger gatherings, Claremont will return for a 7 p.m. show on Friday night.
Bear Ridge Speedway, in Bradford, Vt., will hold its first race of the season on Saturday at 6 p.m., but the grandstand will be closed to the public. Fans can monitor driver progress via Race Monitor.
Some restrictions will remain in effect Claremont, as well, so fans should consult the track’s website for details on social distancing, use of facemasks and other guidelines.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.
Correction
Bear Ridge Speedway will hold its first race of the season on Saturday night but the grandstand will be closed to the public because of COVID-19 restrictions. Fans can monitor driver progress via Race Monitor. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described how people can track the race.