WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Upper Valley Nighthawks, Governor’s Cup firmly secured, fell flat in their season finale against their in-state rival Vermont Mountaineers.
UV’s bullpen collapsed in the sixth inning of a 12-3 loss to Vermont at the Maxfield Sports Complex on Thursday night, spoiling a strong start from Nighthawks starter Will Carnley (Troy). Three different relievers were required to get out of an inning that saw the Mountaineers (22-18) put up 10 runs on six hits, three errors, two walks and three wild pitches. Upper Valley pitching walked 10 and allowed nine hits in the loss.
“It’s hard to win whenever you give up as many walks as we did tonight,” said first-year head coach Keller Bradford.
The loss drops Upper Valley to 21-16 overall, closing the gap to just ½ game between the third and final playoff seed and the Mountaineers in fourth place. The Hawks travel to North Adams (22-14) on Friday; the SteepleCats are tied with Keene for first place in the Northern Division. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
Carnley bounced back after two tough outings, striking out six over six innings in a 1-1 game headed into the seventh. Henry Gladson (Notre Dame) entered the game in relief and allowed two runs on three hits without recording an out. Corley Woods (Jacksonville State) allowed six runs on four hits before getting yanked. Taylor Gibson (Spring Hill CC) finally got out of the inning, but the damage was done.
David Marcano (NJIT) led the the Nighthawks with two hits.
Skylar Pichardo (Marist) is scheduled to start at North Adams.