WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The White River Junction Junior Nighthawks jumped on visiting Brattleboro for five first-inning runs en route to a 6-3 Vermont Summer Baseball League victory on Tuesday evening at the Maxfield Sports Complex.
After an opening Brattleboro run, Ryan Pepe (Thetford Academy) got the ball rolling for WRJ (3-1) in the bottom of the first by reaching on an outfield error. After a single from Kyle Hamilton (Hartford High) and a force-out grounder from Ryland Richardson (Windsor), the Nighthawks’ Robert Slocum (Windsor) plated Pepe and Richardson with an RBI single for a 2-1 lead.
Run-scoring singles from Jacob Dwinell (Hartford), Jacob Barry (White River Valley) and Ethan Belvin (Windsor) pushed the lead to 5-1. Brattleboro (1-3) cut the gap to two runs in the third inning but got no closer.
Pepe (2-for-4) singled and scored again in the sixth for an insurance run. Hamilton also had a pair of singles for White River Junction, which finished with nine hits.
That was more than enough support for pitcher Zach Whitmore (Randolph/Husson College), who tossed a complete-game six-hitter with seven strikeouts against three walks. Whitmore retired 12 straight Brattleboro batters at one point, from the final out of the third inning through the first two at-bats of the seventh.
White River Junction stays home to host Rutland on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
LEBANON — The Upper Valley Anglers 19Us nearly erased a four-run deficit with a furious seventh-inning rally at Lebanon High School before dropping their fourth straight New Hampshire COVID Baseball League game.
Down 6-2 heading into their final at-bat, the Anglers (3-4) closed on the Cannons (7-0) thanks to runs from Ben Williams (Hanover), Trey Parker (KUA/Roanoke College) and Kyle Young (KUA). Upper Valley had Jack Loftus (Hanover) and Andrew Hadlock (KUA) on the corners when the final out was recorded.
Williams and Keegan Silovich (Hanover) both had a pair of hits for Upper Valley, which has lost three one-run affairs during the ongoing slide. The Anglers return to play on Thursday at home against New Hampshire Prospects Red.
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — The Anglers 17Us dropped to 0-4 with the loss at Allard Park.
Weare pitcher Gunner Hagstrom kept Upper Valley batters in check, tossing a one-hitter over the five-inning game. The Hillsboro-Deering High School hurler also helped his own cause by reaching base four times and scoring twice.
Coleman Fabry (Lebanon) scored the Anglers’ only run after being hit by a pitch. Dom Nutting (Fall Mountain) had Upper Valley’s sole hit. The Anglers visit Concord on Thursday.