Nick Tamburro To Return for Fourth Season with Upper Valley Nighthawks

by: Thaddeus Sawyer

After pitching in parts of the last three seasons for the Nighthawks, pitcher Nick
Tamburro will return to the Upper Valley for his fourth season as a member of the
organization.

“Building a relationship with a new team every year is great,” Tamburro said in an
interview after deciding to come back for a fourth year. “But the people who live there
and the teams you're playing, it's just not something you can beat. Especially the level
of competition that you get within the NECBL; you're not going to find that in many other
leagues.”

Tamburro was a key member of a rotation that helped lead the Nighthawks to an
NECBL playoff berth in 2025. The New Jersey native started five games for Upper
Valley, pitching to a 4.79 ERA and collecting a win. Across three seasons, he has
appeared in 14 games for the Nighthawks and racked up 35 career strikeouts.

“Last year we had a bunch of dudes who were in it for the long run,” Tamburro said. “A
lot of times you were running into the guys who were just there to try to get home...I
think last year, it's the first time I've seen where everybody's there; they want to win.”
After falling to the Keene Swamp Bats in a two-game sweep in the first round of the
NECBL playoffs last season, Tamburro says that the expectations are even higher
coming into this year.

“We're bringing back a lot of those guys who were in that boat with that desire to win,”
Tamburro said. “I think that getting a little taste of the playoffs last year didn't go the way
we expected or wanted it to go, but we think that we could build off of that and try to win
a championship this year.”

Tamburro will spend the upcoming spring season as a redshirt senior in his fifth season
with Monmouth University. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen for the Hawks in 2025,
accumulating 16 strikeouts across 22 innings. Tamburro will then wrap up his collegiate
career with the Nighthawks, where he is expected to be joined by multiple familiar faces
from the 2025 playoff roster.

“I'm super stoked to be getting to play with a lot of the same guys that I've already
played with again,” Tamburro said. “That's not something that really happens often in
summer ball. I think that if they can build that type of culture here, it'll be nice for years
to come.”

Beyond a chance to make it back to the playoffs and compete for a championship,
Tamburro says that he is excited to get to the Upper Valley and take advantage of the
scenery and local life. He mentioned the Quechee Gorge and Montague Golf Club as
locations he frequents during his time in the area. He also highlighted the commitment
and dedication of fans in the area to the Nighthawks organization.

“The people there are great,” Tamburro said. “We show up every day and there's fans,
which is nice. You don't get that in a lot of places.”