WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Ryan Pepe reached base and scored to open each half of a Vermont Summer Baseball League doubleheader on Sunday as the White River Junction Junior Nighthawks earned 7-2 and 12-2 wins over Manchester at the Maxfield Sports Complex.
Pepe (Thetford Academy) singled, stole second base and eventually scored on a passed ball to kick off a three-run first inning in White River Junction’s opening-game win. WRJ managed just three hits, but frequent passed balls combined with seven walks and two hits batsmen provided all the help the home team would need.
Seven different players scored in game one for the Junior Nighthawks. Kyle Hamilton (Hartford High) and Robert Slocum (Windsor) had WRJ’s other hits. Alex Bushway (Hartford) needed just 55 pitches over five frames to get the win, allowing just one hit and no walks with four strikeouts.
WRJ’s bats came alive in the nightcap, slapping out 11 hits to win by the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning. Pepe walked and scored for a 1-0 lead in the first, then he walked and scored again as part of a second-frame eruption in which the first six batters — capped by Pepe — got on base and scored runs.
Ryland Richardson (Windsor) and Nathan O’Donnell (Thetford) both had multiple-hit games for the Junior Nighthawks in game two. Jacob Barry clinched the win for Slocum in the home sixth when he tripled and scored on a Hamilton RBI single.
The Junior Nighthawks entertain Brattleboro at Maxfield on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.