Nighthawks Drop Rainy Day Contest Against Sanford
Despite an early lead, the Mainers offense exploded in the second half of the game to hand the Nighthawks a loss.
By Thaddeus Sawyer
While the skies cleared up at the Maxfield Sports Complex just in time to get a game in on Wednesday night, the Sanford Mainers offense poured on the runs.
The Mainers (4-2) thundered their way to a 12-4 win over the Nighthawks (1-3-1), scoring four runs in the fifth inning to capture a second straight comeback victory over Upper Valley.
Three runs of that damage came on one swing, as UConn left fielder Nater Wachter popped a home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning that sent left fielder Brooks Craigue sprinting with his back to the infield trying to catch up with the drive.
A batter earlier, first baseman Steven Kraus dropped a diving single over the head of Nighthawks shortstop Tim Dickinson, scoring the first run of the inning.
By the end of the fifth, the Nighthawks’ two-run lead had been completely erased.
While it took both teams an inning to settle in after a 15-minute rain delay, the Nighthawks found their footing first and took advantage. In the second, San Diego State right fielder Levi Jones drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly, cashing in on a William Hurt hit by pitch after the center fielder swiped third to move 90 feet away.
The Nighthawks picked up another in the top of the third after Cam Boardman nearly rounded the bases on a Little League home run. Boardman tapped a swinging bunt down the third base line, which starting pitcher Drew Sliwkowski sprinted off the mound to collect. Looking to make an outstanding play, the left-hander’s spinning jump throw instead ended up rolling towards the fence down the first base line, with Boardman reaching third.
With the Nighthawks going on to load the bases, Dickinson grounded into a double play, bringing home Boardman but missing out on doing even more damage.
A fourth-inning RBI groundout from Boardman also stretched the lead to two just a half-inning prior to the Mainers’ bats waking up.
Despite walking four over three innings of work, Sliwkowski was generally effective, limiting the damage to just those two runs.
His Nighthawks counterpart, Anthony Bubba, produced similar results in his three innings of work. Fresh off committing to Quinnipiac, the right-hander tossed three innings of one-run baseball and looked athletic on the mound, making multiple defensive plays in the first inning including a glove flip on a weak grounder to the right of the mound and snagging a hard bouncer back up the middle.
The only run he allowed came on an RBI groundout from second baseman Jacob Harring after right fielder Sam Miller led off the inning with a four-pitch walk and swiped both second and third before scoring.
Former University of Hartford teammate Julian Rondon pitched a scoreless inning in his Nighthawks debut, while UNC Wilmington pitcher Carver Pleasant also made his first outing of the summer.
2025 Nighthawk Michael Bradshaw also took the mound for the Mainers, earning the win.
While the Nighthawks had runners on second and third in the fifth, it was the Mainers who continued to pile on, pushing the game into blowout territory.
Brian Connolly drove in an insurance run in the seventh with an infield single on a grounder that slowed just enough in the wet grass for the third baseman to beat the throw to first.
The Nighthawks defense also aided the Mainers in the later innings by contributing to four unearned runs.
An error from Eastern Illinois third baseman James Love also gave the Mainers another pair of unearned runs in the seventh, while another two came across in the ninth on an error from Maryland first baseman Charley Magoulick.
Wachter and Antonio Morales each sprinkled on an RBI for good measure in the ninth as well.
The Nighthawks did score one final run in the seventh when Love earned a leadoff walk and worked his way around the bases on a stolen base and a pair of passed balls.
For the second straight day, Magoulick led the Nighthawks in hits with two. While Love missed out on extending his hit streak to five games, he did reach base twice. Hurt reached three times, while catcher Nick Quagliato found his way on twice.
The Nighthawks will be back at home Thursday night against the undefeated Keene SwampBats (4-0-1) with a chance to rebound and find the win column for the first time in almost a week. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will stream live on ESPN+.