Nighthawks Drop Late-Night Pitcher's Duel to Navigators

By Thaddeus Sawyer

On a night when first pitch was delayed almost two hours by an onslaught of rain, the Nighthawks (5-6-1) had to wait even longer to record their first hit.

Facing a one-run deficit as the game neared the later innings and hanging on by a thread, Nick Quagliato finally drove a two-out double off the wall over the head of right fielder Grant Hunter in the sixth to score AJ DeMastrie from second.

That run tied the pitcher’s duel at 2-2, a score that would hold until the North Shore Navigators (6-6) pulled away with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, extending their win streak to five games as they put away the Nighthawks, 4-2.

With Jackson Caldwell on the mound, top offensive threat Hudson Ellis led off the eighth with a four-pitch walk before advancing to second on a groundout. That set up first baseman Danati Fronduto perfectly to send an RBI single into left to take back a one-run lead. 

The Navigators also tacked on an insurance run via a sacrifice fly later in the inning for good measure.

After Quagliato’s double in the sixth, only one more Nighthawk picked up a hit. Third baseman James Love’s 393-foot double off the wall in the top of the eighth may have given the Nighthawks a lead had shortstop Frank Kelly not been caught stealing earlier in the frame.

Even though the aggressive base running didn’t pay off in that instance, Kelly demonstrated earlier in the game why it’s always a fair bet to make with him on the base paths.

After being hit by a pitch, Kelly did his best Rickey Henderson impression by taking second on a wild pitch on which he was already in motion and stealing third with ease. The throw to third nearly sailed into the outfield, with third baseman Tyler Shulman leaping high in the air to save a run.

Unfortunately for North Shore, that play only delayed the scoring. With his sights set on scoring, Kelly dashed home. Navigators starter Robert Brown III delivered a pitch high and outside in the left-handed batter’s box, giving Kelly just enough time to sneak under the tag from catcher Aidan Sengenberger and steal home.

That initial score gave the Nighthawks a lead against a team that came into the evening 1-6 in games in which the opponent scores first.

The Navigators, however, had a different plan this time around. That started when Hunter smacked a high fastball at the top of the zone over the fence into the parking lot in left for a game-tying, 102 mph solo shot that got out in a flash.

The home run was the first extra-base hit that Nighthawks starter Mateo Wells had given up all summer. The right-hander was once again steady in this one, delivering 4 2/3 innings of two-run baseball (one earned) and working especially efficiently in the first and fourth innings.

The High Point University pitcher finished the night with four strikeouts but left two runners on after giving up a pair of singles to start the fifth before he was pulled. 

The Nighthawks turned to Carver Pleasant to clean up the mess, though the left-hander almost immediately uncorked a wild pitch to advance both runners one base and then walked a pair of batters to allow the lead runner to score. Ellis picked up the RBI.

Pleasant finished his night on a high note, throwing 2 1/3 innings and not giving up an earned run.

Despite Kelly’s heroic head-first steal of home, Brown was extremely effective for the Navigators. The right-hander tossed five hitless innings and left in line for the win. The victory would eventually go to Thomas Mahoney.

Caldwell took the loss.

Quagliato and Love were the only two Nighthawks to reach base more than once, each notching a walk and a hit.

The Nighthawks will look to get back in the win column on Friday night as they return home for the first time since the start of the week to take on the Sanford Mainers (9-3). Upper Valley is 0-2 against the North Division-leading Mainers this season.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on ESPN+.