Nighthawks Return to the Max to Host SwampBats

By Thaddeus Sawyer

Even for a pair of division rivals who sit just over an hour apart from each other in bordering states, the Nighthawks (3-5-1) and the Keene SwampBats (5-2-1) have gotten to know each other even better over the first two weeks of the NECBL season.

On Monday, for the third time in seven days, the two teams will face off at the Maxfield Sports Complex as the Nighthawks look to move to .500 at home on the season.

While the Nighthawks are coming off of a pair of losses against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (8-1) and sit in the bottom half of the North Division standings, they’ve also been one of only two teams to take down the SwampBats this season with a 6-2 victory last Thursday.

That win gave the Nighthawks the initial lead in the season series for the first time since 2021.

Upper Valley also played Keene to a 3-3 tie two days earlier, going the full 11 innings for the first tie in Nighthawks history. 

Bellarmine pitcher Chase Chamberlain, who started that first contest against the SwampBats, is expected to get his second crack at Keene after taking a no-decision in his first start of the season.

While the right-hander walked three batters and threw only 36 of his 64 pitches for strikes in 2 1/3 innings of work, the sophomore didn’t allow a run and departed a scoreless ballgame, albeit with a pair of runners on base for reliever Karl Ralamb to clean up.

Chamberlain posted nine outings of three-plus innings for the Knights this past spring, suggesting the Academic All-ASUN honoree has more in the tank if he can consistently find the zone.

Speaking of consistency, it would be hard to find a hitter who has been more steady at the plate this summer than Nighthawks third baseman James Love. 

The Eastern Illinois corner infielder has reached base at least once in each of his first nine games for the Nighthawks, starting every game the team has played. The sophomore has notched a hit in eight of those contests and leads the league with 15 knocks. 

Love also leads the league with a .469 batting average and 20 total bases.

Rounding out the top of the Nighthawks lineup, catcher Cam Boardman, first baseman Charley Magoulick and utilityman William Hurt are all off to hot starts this summer. Boardman and Hurt have each reached base in every game they’ve appeared in, while Magoulick is tied with Love for the team lead with four extra-base hits.

The Nighthawks are also expected to have Alex Kelsey back on the field after the center fielder spent much of the last week visiting schools following a strong season for St. Joseph’s University. The left-handed contact specialist reached base at a .400 clip in his first three games for Upper Valley.

Kelsey committed to the University of Kentucky on Monday.

Over in the third base dugout, the SwampBats have four hitters getting on base at over a .400 mark.

That crew is led by third-year catcher T.J. Schuyler. After posting a .244 on-base percentage last summer, the Indiana Hoosier has reached base in half of his plate appearances thus far.

Collin Anderson, Jackson Smith and Eli Stephens have also reached base at or above a .400 clip.

That’s not even counting first baseman Jackson Marshall, who’s off to a slow start at the plate for Keene but won Big East Player of the Year honors at UConn this spring. The 6-foot-8 slugger’s 52-game on-base streak came to an end against the Nighthawks on Thursday.

First pitch at the Maxfield Sports Complex is scheduled for 6 p.m. After originally being scheduled to stream over the NECBL+, the contest has been upgraded to ESPN+.

The Nighthawks will be back in their “Greener Mind” uniforms, a collaboration with The Busyhead Project.