WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — As summer gets underway, so too has the newest season for the Upper Valley Nighthawks of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
The Nighthawks have gotten off to a solid start at 8-7-1 (entering Thursday’s visit to Ocean State) and have caught some fire as of late, winning three of their last four games. The most recent came on Wednesday night in an 8-0 victory over the North Shore Navigators at Maxfield Sports Complex.
The squad’s play so far has them in third place in the North Division. The Sanford Mainers (11-5) lead the North, with Keene (8-6-1) sitting just ahead of the Nighthawks.
“I think we’ve got a really good group of guys, and a lot of these guys love to play baseball,” Nighthawks manager Chase Allen said. “I’ve had multiple conversations with Noah (Crane) about it — that’s what you try and get in summer ball.”
Allen, who also serves as an assistant coach for the University of Dayton’s baseball team, is in his first season with the Nighthawks. He replaced Mat Pause, who was the club’s skipper from 2023 to 2025.
The Flyers assistant noted that the makeup of this version of the Nighthawks has made he and his staff’s role easier.
“All we have to do is put them in the spot they need to be in and then kind of step back and let them do their thing,” Allen said.
As far as the on-field product, the Nighthawks’ bench boss has been impressed with his squad’s pitching. The Nighthawks as a staff have the second-lowest ERA in the league at 3.17.
Additionally, while the Nighthawks are ranked eighth in the league at the dish with a team batting average of .232, Allen thought the bats have been resilient.
While Allen indicated it was difficult to single out some of the strongest performers on his team thus far due to the large contributions from the group as a whole, a pair of Upper Valley natives have already made their marks so far this season.
Cameron Boardman, a Bradford, Vt., native, is a catcher who will play for the New Jersey Institute of Technology as a graduate transfer after a stint at the University of Hartford. He played high school ball at Oxbow HIgh before transferring to Vermont Academy.
Boardman, who is in his second season with the Nighthawks, is currently third on the team in batting average (.310) and tied for third in RBIs (six).
While one Upper Valley ballplayer is doing it with his bat, another — Woodsville native Brendan Walker — is doing it with his arm.
In three relief appearances this season, Walker has not allowed a run or a hit and has struck out eight. Walker, who is in his third season with the Nighthawks, will throw for Bryant University as a graduate transfer; he previously played at Stetson University. He played his high school baseball at Kimball Union Academy.
To make matters even more interesting, this is not the first time this Upper Valley duo has teamed up. They played Little League baseball together.
“We both kind of grew up coming to these games — so just a full circle moment for us,” Boardman said.
“It’s cool to be on his team again — I love being able to have my family come watch me play. … It’s nice to be home,” Walker said.
While the contributions of this Upper Valley pair and others have allowed the Nighthawks to stack some wins, player development is just as important.
Allen and his staff employ a trial-by-fire approach, and while that might cost his team in the moment, it pays dividends in the long run.
One example of this was during a contest last week, when Willie Hurt (Virginia Tech) was picked off while attempting to steal a base. But he stayed aggressive later in the game and stole a bag.
“Could we be better if we probably didn’t let them take as many chances and learn by trial by fire?” Allen asked. “Probably, but that’s not what summer ball is about.”
Looking ahead, Allen says he will focus on getting his pitchers into different situations than they’re used to, keeping the baserunning aggressive and getting more balls in play.
“We’ve grown a lot in this short amount of time, and if we can keep a core group around, I think these guys love to play baseball enough to where we have a real shot at this thing,” Allen said.
After Thursday’s trip to see the Waves in South Kingstown, R.I., the Nighthawks will wrap up this week’s slate by hosting the North Adams SteepleCats on Friday at 6 p.m. North Adams dropped a 4-1 defeat on the Nighthawks on Sunday in western Massachusetts.
