Nighthawks Take Flight Early
July 2, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Upper Valley Nighthawks' Gehrig Anglin and Sanford Mainers' Devan Kodali in action
(, Credit: Madison Giltner Photography)
HARTFORD, V.T. - In the fourth meeting of the season behind the third and fourth place teams in the North Division, the Upper Valley Nighthawks used a four-run first inning to defeat the Sanford Mainers 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Upper Valley got out to an early lead in the first as Trey Christman (William & Mary) reached on an error by Matt Travisano (UMass Amherst) at third base. Christman and Matt Thompson (Kent State), who worked a walk in the next plate appearance, both scored when Cole Fellows (Columbia) singled with one out in the inning.
"Teams that score first get the momentum early," manager Nic Lops said of Upper Valley's quick start. "When that happens, we can't just give up and give in."
Before the Mainers had a chance to even the game up, the Nighthawks piled two more runs in the home portion of the first. Jacob Keys (Southern Mississippi) drove home fellows on a fielder's choice before he came around to score on a run-scoring single by Nick Quagliato (Fairleigh Dickinson).
Upper Valley's four-run advantage stood into the fourth inning when D.J. Pacheco (Richmond) came to the plate. Pacheco, who had two home runs in the previous two home games for the Nighthawks, took a pitch from Josh Kopetski (Rhode Island) over the center-field fence for the fifth run of the ballgame.
An inning later, the Nighthawks put another run on the board as an error by Matt Miceli (Stony Brook) allowed Gehrig Frei (Mississippi State) to touch home plate. Miceli's error was the fourth error of the game for Sanford.
Miceli's error was followed by another one, the fifth for Sanford, but Dan McAliney (Binghamton) worked around the extra base runners to escape the fifth inning.
"Sloppy," Lops said of the game in general, which featured nine total errors. "Not a very good carryover because I thought we handled the baseball pretty well last to get a gutsy win at home against a really good ballclub."
After McAliney escaped the trouble, Corbin Lanowitz (UNC Asheville) started the top of the sixth inning with a double right down the right-field line. Lanowitz's double was the third hit of the contest for Sanford.
Lanowitz advanced to third on a passed ball before coming into score on a fielder's choice by Ryan Kolben (UMass Amherst). After Blake Schaaf (Georgetown) reloaded the bases with a walk, Matt Miceli (Stony Brook) hit a sacrifice fly that scored Sanford's second run.
The Mainers matched their two-spot from the sixth inning with another one in the seventh inning. Devan Bade (Binghamton) opened the inning with a double before Ray Velazquez (Vanderbilt) joined him on the bases with a single.
With two runners on, Lanowitz delivered with a single hit down the right-field line again. That single scored Bade and put Velazquez on third base.
"I think the best thing about Corbin Lanowitz is that he is so professional," Lops said of his left fielder. "He's struggled to begin the summer, but he doesn't wear it. He doesn't have that body language...He works his butt off and I'm so happy to see his game coming around."
Lanowitz's fifth RBI of the summer was matched with Devan Kodali's (Vanderbilt) seventh RBI of the 2024 campaign. Kodali brought home Velazquez on a groundout that made it a two-run deficit for the Mainers.
Sanford yielded one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning as Keys came around the bases on wild pitches following a leadoff single. That run was the final one of the ballgame as the Nighthawks closed out the 7-4 win.
The Mainers are off on Wednesday before returning to action on the Fourth of July for a battle against the North Adams SteepleCats.
Images from this story
 Upper Valley Nighthawks' Gehrig Anglin and Sanford Mainers' Devan Kodali in action (Madison Giltner Photography) |
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 2, 2024
- Nighthawks Take Flight Early - Sanford Mainers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
