SteepleCats Drop Another Close One At Home
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. —What started off as a pitching duel turned quickly into a classic Friday night offensive matchup at Joe Wolfe Field.
In their second of three meetings over the next five games, the Upper Valley Nighthawks drove down from Vermont on Friday to face off against the SteepleCats in North Adams. After the Nighthawks held a 1-0 lead for five innings, both squad’s offense broke out, eventually leading to the Nighthawks holding on for a 6-4 win on the road.
Amherst College’s Davis Brown started the night on the mound for the SteepleCats for his fourth appearance in the NECBL. However, The Nighthawks took advantage of Brown in the top of the 1st as the right-hander struggled to find the strike zone. With the bases loaded courtesy of a hit and two walks, outfielder Anthony Meduri sent a sacrifice fly to right field to score Christopher Berry, giving Upper Valley an early 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately for North Adams, Upper Valley’s starting pitcher Levi Thomas brought his A-game to Joe Wolfe Field. The Troy University sophomore held the Steeplecats scoreless through his first five innings.
Yet after his long first inning, SteepleCats starter Davis Brown was able to settle down and deal his way through the Nighthawks roster, going three more innings where Upper Valley only landed one hit.
A then new-comer to North Adams in Sam Dobbins relieved Brown in the 5th inning. A 2017 Connecticut Collegiate League All-Star, Dobbins impressed the crowd at Joe Wolfe Field in his SteepleCats debut, throwing a scoreless 2.1 innings where he struck out two.
But the scoreless effort by Thomas was broken by the SteepleCats in the bottom of the 6th inning. After Dillon Mendel singled and Tony Ortiz walked, SteepleCats shortstop Joe Porricelli tied the game with an RBI double into the outfield. In just the next at-bat, Matt Koperniak gave North Adams a 2-1 lead with an RBI single.
However, this lead for the SteepleCats did not last long. Getting the first out of the inning, Sam Dobbins’ night ended as Alex Simon, another player new to North Adams, came on to relieve. Yet Simon’s first appearance in the NECBL did not go as planned, as the Nighthawks offense brought in three runs off a Christopher Berry double and an Austin Wilhite single.
Although, the SteepleCats offense didn’t let his hinder them. As Cris Ruiz and Chad Minato started the inning off with two straight singles, designated hitter Dillon Mendel sent single into the outfield that eventually brought in two runs after Mendel baited the second baseman into a rundown that a lead to an errant throw to the catcher and let another SteepleCat cross the plate.
The scoring did not end there. The Nighthawks then plated another run in the top of the 8th after an RBI double from outfielder Ty Adcock, giving Upper Valley a 5-4 lead.
After Nighthawks reliever A.J. Franklin held the SteepleCats scoreless in the bottom of the 8th, his offense gave the extra padding in the top of the 9th. With the bases loaded, Matt Tarabek sent a sacrifice fly off of North Adams reliever Jackson Coutts to score Ross Cadena from third, making it a 6-4 game.
With the game on the line in the bottom of the 9th, SteepleCats second baseman Chad Minato got the inning started after reaching first on a second baseman’s error. Yet the hope for a North Adams comeback fell fast, as a fielder’s choice, ground out, and pop out closed the books on Friday’s game in favor of the Nighthawks.
The SteepleCats head on the road tomorrow to take on the Mystic Schooners at 6:30. They then return to Joe Wolfe Field on Sunday for Pedro Sierra Day at the ballpark. Sierra, the last player to play in both the Negro Leagues and the MLB, will throw out the first pitch in Sunday’s contest against the same Upper Valley Nighthawks at 4:30. Tickets for Sunday’s game or any SteepleCats home game can be purchased online at www.steeplecats.org or at the ticket booth one hour prior to the game’s start.
More photos from this game here.
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