White River Junction
As he watched the baseball bounce past New Bedford Bay Sox third baseman Robbie Doring, the game-winning run came home in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Nighthawks a 6-5 victory Tuesday at the Maxfield Sports Complex. Walden, who was 0-for-12 in his first four games in the Upper Valley, let out a sigh of relief after his game-winning hit.
“Finally, it seems like it took forever,” Walden said with a smile. “It felt like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders.”
It was Walden’s first hit of the season after going 0-for-4 to start Tuesday, helping the Nighthawks win their third in a row to jump to 3-1 this season.
But Walden, an Albertville, Ala., native, changed the narrative of what was a late-game surge from the New Bedford offense and a collapse by the Nighthawks’ relievers.
Joe Levasseur, a Saint Anselm College lefty, entered in the eighth inning and gave up two runs, one earned, on one hit and one walk, cutting the Nighthawks lead to 5-3. With sidearm specialist Nick Jones, of Kansas State, warming up in the bullpen, Upper Valley manager Nick Cenatiempo went for velocity with St. Joseph’s pitcher Brian Lau instead. Lau struck out one before giving up two hits and a walk, including the game-tying two RBI double to New Bedford’s Ryan Baldwin, knotting the game up at 5-5.
“Because what we saw with (New Bedford) earlier was they were kind of chasing a little,” Cenatiempo said. “I didn’t think they would handle the velocity of Lau. But they did a nice job. They shortened up and put some balls in play on him.
“That’s one of those things where you could go either way,” he added. “They struggled with (Mike) Coss, but they also struggled with (Wes) Engle’s velocity a little bit. So you can go with a soft arm, give them a different look. … You can look at it both.”
Jones finished the ninth inning, forcing New Bedford’s T.J. Dixon and Keith Klebart to pop up into Upper Valley’s outfield for the final two outs and the win.
“That’s the kind of guy you want to fall in love with,” Cenatiempo said. “You don’t want to use him too much (early on in a season). Like tonight, he came in and got two outs? Good. He’s good.”
The Nighthawks’ outfield has, by far, been its strength this season. Troy University’s Joey Denison was 4-for-5 Tuesday night with two RBIs and three runs scored, including the game-winner from second base off the RBI from Walden. Grayson Padgett, hitting cleanup, was 2-for-4 with a run scored, a walk and an RBI, keeping his team-leading .455 batting average in shape.
“I feel like I’m seeing the ball real good out of the pitcher’s hand,” Denison said. “I think the main thing I’m doing now at the plate is I’m not swinging at the pitcher’s pitch, the pitch he wants me to swing at. The ball low and away, the ball low and in, the fastball. I’m waiting for a good pitch.”
Upper Valley jumped on New Bedford (0-3) early in Tuesday’s game. Denison drove in leadoff hitter Matt Maul, of St. Joseph’s, with one out in the first inning to give the Nighthawks the early 1-0 lead. Denison added to it in the third with a triple to deep right-center field. Padgett drove Denison in with an RBI off the pitcher’s mound and scored off an RBI double from East Tennessee State’s Blake Rowlett for a 3-0 cushion.
“The win was huge for momentum,” Denison said. “We had the lead, and then we gave it up there. To come back and win the game keeps the momentum going for us.”
Mike Coss started on the mound for Upper Valley, his second appearance this season. He threw four scoreless innings with two walks. Wes Engle, of Texas State, entered the game in relief to start the fifth inning, his first outing in a Nighthawks uniform, allowing three hits, one earned run and recording four strikeouts.
But Upper Valley’s relievers struggled to finish New Bedford off. Lau, slated to be the Nighthawks’ closer, only faced four batters before being pulled in favor of Jones. Cenatiempo said he wanted to see what his closer could do in a big spot late in a game. Only four games in, he knows his late-inning relievers will take time.
“We looked at Lau as possibly being our closer, which he still is,” Cenatiempo said. “The first game (a 7-2 win on Sunday vs. Winnipesaukee), we had a little cushion for him. We put him in a tigher spot here. But you know what? This is a learning experience for him. He’s a younger arm, it’s going to take time, but he works hard.”
Walden, from Division II’s Alabama-Huntsville, said he hasn’t played in nearly a month before taking the field with the Nighthawks, so getting his feet under him has been a challenge early on. Upper Valley’s two catchers, Walden and Tuesday’s designated hitter, Saint Louis University’s James Morisano, are a combined 1-for-20 to start the season.
Cenatiempo said he isn’t worried about their offensive production. Not yet, anyway.
“It’s been tough, but it’s also been an adjustment period,” Walden said. “I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of things. … At the level this league is, it’s pretty tough.”
Upper Valley continues a stretch of six games in six days through Sunday and will turn around to play New Bedford on the road tonight at 6:05 p.m.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.