Nighthawks Host Navigators With Chance at Second Place in North

By Thaddeus Sawyer

The Upper Valley Nighthawks (16-14-1) have a chance to move into second place in the North Division on Tuesday night but will have dethrone a familiar opponent in order to do so.

The Nighthawks will host the North Shore Navigators (17-14), who currently sit in second, at the Maxfield Sports Complex on Tuesday.

The contest will be a rematch of the Nighthawks’ 5-2 road loss on Saturday, in which North Shore took a first inning lead and never looked back. The Nighthawks are currently 1-2 on the season against the Navigators.

The Navigators are currently riding a three-game winning streak and are coming off an off day Monday. The Nighthawks have won five out of their last six, with the North Shore loss standing as the lone setback during that stretch.

Upper Valley will be looking to recapture the form that saw them shut out the Navigators on June 24 in an 8-0 victory in the lone contest thus far between the two teams at the Max.

Danny Lazaro (0-0, 6.75 ERA) will look to carry over that home field advantage into his first start of the summer. Through four appearances for the Nighthawks, the Virginia Tech pitcher has allowed an earned run in three but came out of his last outing against the Keene SwampBats on Thursday unscathed.

The left-hander made one start for the Hokies this past spring, making it through 2 1/3 innings and surrendering a pair of earned runs.

Giancarlo Arencibia (0-1, 18.00 ERA) will make his second start of the summer for the Navigators. The right-hander has tossed two innings in as many appearances for North Shore since joining the team at the start of July, giving up four runs and walking five.

The North Shore lineup is led by Hudson Ellis, who leads all qualified hitters in the NECBL with a .566 on-base percentage and is second with 24 stolen bases.

The Oral Roberts infielder has gone 3-for-7 against the Nighthawks this season, walking five times.

For the Nighthawks, reigning NECBL Player of the Week James Love remains the top threat despite not reaching base against the North Adams SteepleCats on Monday. The third baseman leads the NECBL with 36 hits on the year and has reached base in 24 of the 27 games he has played in.

Catcher Nick Quagliato also received league recognition on Monday after notching 13 RBIs last week, earning a spot on the Position Player Honor Roll.

Dartmouth infielder Alejandro Puig has also been heating up at the plate as of late, as has St. Joseph’s corner infielder Jonathan Holt. 

Puig provided three hits and three RBIs on Monday and has gotten on base at a .344 clip in July. Holt has posted two consecutive multi-hit performances, including a pair of hits and an RBI against North Shore on Saturday. 

First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on NECBL+ and Unbeaten.