Game 37+38 Recap: Mountaineers swept in home doubleheader

Vermont's Mikael Mogues can't reel in a throw in the first game of the doubleheader.

A week ago, I wrote a story about the three-way race for the fourth playoff spot in the Northern Division, looking at Vermont, Winnipesaukee, and Keene. I didn’t even mention the Upper Valley Nighthawks, who were 2 1/2 games back out of the three-team tie. The Nighthawks have since responded by winning three of four, the lone loss coming to the second-place Valley Blue Sox.

Upper Valley has pulled into a tie for fifth with Winnipesaukee, sitting just a half game back of the Vermont Mountaineers. Keene is a half game back of both of them, having dropped four in a row.

The Mountaineers have made the playoffs for five straight years and won the Northern Division each of the past two summers. This season began a forgetful 2-11 start, and Vermont is still shaking off the rust. They were swept in back-to-back nine inning games Tuesday night, losing an uncovential doubleheader to Upper Valley and North Adams. Vermont still holds a playoff spot, but they’re clinging to it. The in-state rival Nighthawks are closing fast.

Game 1: Upper Valley 6, Vermont 3

Upper Valley pitcher-turned-catcher Brian Lau drilled a solo home run with one out in the ninth inning, and a costly error led to a two-run shot from Al Molina three batters later as the Nighthawks came away with a 6-3 win in a rare day game.

Lau, a catcher with Saint Joseph’s, entered Tuesday having thrown 12 2/3 innings with the Nighthawks, and was just 1-for-12 (.083) in limited action in the lineup. Facing Mountaineers reliever Christian Isbell, Lau took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the fence in left. Molina followed with a two-run home run of his own, capping a back-and-forth game between two evenly matched squads.

The star of the day was arguably Upper Valley reliever Nick Jones, a sidearming right-hander who threw five scoreless innings in his longest outing of the summer. Jones scattered three hits and a walk, striking out three in his 19th appearance for the Nighthawks. Lowering his ERA to 0.68 over almost 27 innings, Jones has established himself as one of the league’s best relievers, going 2-2 with four saves.

Vermont jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third against Nighthawks starter Houston Mabray via a sacrifice fly from Joe Tietjen, but it proved to be short-lived. Upper Valley struck for two runs against Vermont’s Jonathan Stiever in the fourth, as James Morisano lined a RBI single and Charlie Concannon tripled.

The Nighthawks added a run on a RBI single from Molina in the fourth, but Vermont answered both times. Ryan Fineman had a RBI single in the third, and Trevor Ezell drew a walk and eventually came around to score on an error by the third basemen. With two runners on and nobody out, the Mountaineers were threatening for more, but Jones entered and quickly recorded three outs. He set down eight of the first nine he faced in relief.

Isbell worked out of trouble when he replaced Stiever with two runners on and nobody out in the seventh. Stiever tied his longest start of the summer, allowing three runs on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Isbell worked a 1-2-3 eighth, but gave up three runs in the final frame.

Vermont put two runners on against Jones in the ninth via back-to-back singles from Fineman and Daniel Little, but stranded both after two strikeouts looking.

Game 2: North Adams 10, Vermont 0

A blowout loss followed in the nightcap, as the Mountaineers mustered just two hits and North Adams continued to roll, winning their fourth straight game behind a 15-hit attack. Batters two-through-six in the SteepleCats lineup enjoyed strong days, led by third basemen C.J. Price, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs.

Four North Adams pitchers combined to hurl a two-hitter, with starter Ben Olson going five scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Reliever Josh Simpson lost the no-hit bid in the seventh, as pinch-hitter Davis Feldman led off the frame with a single to right field. It was Feldman’s first hit of the season in 13 at bats as the Eastern Michigan product is a member of the Mountaineers pitching staff.

The Vermont duo of Sean Callahan and Rayne Supple combined to allow 10 runs, seven earned, in the loss. Callahan gave up nine hits and six runs over 4 1/3, while Supple was tagged for six and four over 4 2/3. Supple retired eight of the final nine batters he faced, a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing day.

Not Adams jumped ahead 2-0 in the second behind a sacrifice fly from Kyle Brennan and Nick Riotto. A two-base error on Vermont first basemen Mikael Mogues brought in a run in the third, and the SteepleCats chased Callahan in the fifth.

The first three runners reached against him on singles, loading the bases for Price. Vermont manager Joe Brown went to his bullpen, and Supple was greeted rudely by Price, who doubled in a pair of runs. John Mazza and Brennan followed with RBI singles, pushing the lead to seven.

They finished off the scoring on a RBI single from Noah Vaugan, a double from Price, and a productive groundout from leadoff hitter Daniel Holst.

Olson got the win, issuing a lone walk and striking out three. Simpson, Jared Habershaw, and Andrew Camiolo combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one.

Vermont’s other hit was by Daniel Little, but he was erased via a 6-4-3 double play. Vermont grounded into three double plays and didn’t have a runner reach third in the shutout loss, their first of the summer.