Nighthawks Rally Late For First 2026 Win Over Mainers

By Thaddeus Sawyer

It may have taken Nighthawks right fielder Levi Jones 28 plate appearances to notch his first hit of the summer, but his first knock in the fifth inning couldn’t have come at a better time.

Jones’ first hit since last summer in the Appalachian League, a bloop single into shallow left field, sparked a two-run rally in the fifth that gave the Nighthawks their first lead of the game.

“It was awesome to see the bullpen and everyone behind me because they know I've been working hard for it,” Jones said. "It's just nice to stay the course and finally get one to drop.”

While the Mainers (9-4) battled back to score a pair in the top of the seventh, the Nighthawks (6-6-1) would not be denied their first win against Sanford this season. Upper Valley scored three runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 6-4 victory over the North Division leaders.

“I just think we had a little more fearlessness,” Jones said. “I think when we go up there and we say, no matter what happens, we're going to try and get ours, 
I think that really, really works for us. Plus a little bit of just situational hitting and some big pitches. It was a good win.”

The biggest hit of the day came off the bat of catcher AJ DeMastrie, who drove in all three runs in the seventh with a 342-foot double that left the bat at 98 mph. By the time center fielder Antonio Morales had gathered the ball at the base of the wall in the right center gap, Alex Kelsey was already racing home from first for the third run on the play.

“I was looking early for something up to get to the outfield, try and drive at least one in,” DeMastrie said. “Luckily, I was able to get a fastball up and I didn't miss it.”

Though the Mainers got on the board first with a hard RBI single into right from designated hitter Steven Kraus and doubled that lead in the top of the third on a left fielder Brendan Sencaj single to the same spot, the Nighthawks got one back in the bottom of the third.

Frank Kelly continued his blistering week with an RBI single of his own, driving in Anthony Greco after the left fielder advanced to third on an error earlier in the inning for an unearned run.

Kelly has driven in five runs in his last four games.

Outside of that unearned damage, Mainers starter Andrew Middleton was largely unhittable for a second-straight outing. Two of his three hits allowed came in that third inning, and he didn’t give up an extra-base hit on the day.

The left-hander finished four innings without surrendering an earned run, striking out four batters.

It wasn’t until the fifth that the Nighthawks were finally able to get to the Mainers’ bullpen, and with great success.

With Keegan Antelman on the mound, Jones started the run-scoring inning with his single and later advanced to third on a single from William Hurt.

When Hurt took off for second a few pitches later and catcher Domenico Tozzi’s throw sailed into center, Jones cruised home for the game-tying run.

The Nighthawks would then take their first lead of the evening on a James Love single through the left side to score Hurt.

The Mainers wouldn’t go down without a fight however, loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh. With the pressure on, Sencaj grounded a ball to short that looked like it could become an inning-ending double play.

Instead, second baseman Alejandro Puig sent a throw wide to the left of first to allow two runs to score and relinquish the lead.

Luckily, that new deficit didn’t last long. The Nighthawks loaded the bases themselves in the bottom of the frame with a pair of singles and a walk to set DeMastrie up for the eventual game-winning double.

Pitching the final two innings and earning his second save of the season, Julian Rondon ran into some trouble after issuing a pair walks in the ninth but punched out the final two batters he faced to strike out the side after a mound visit from manager Chase Allen.

“It was kind of more so let them hit it, see what happens, and that’s really what worked for me,” Rondon said.

Trey Sejnoha got the start for Upper Valley and did his job, allowing just two runs across four innings of work.

Brian Smith grabbed his first win of the season despite giving up two runs in his lone inning of work.

Tyler Hemmesch also chipped in two scoreless innings as the first arm out of the bullpen, striking out two.

“I think it says a lot about our arms,” DeMastrie said. “
We have a lot of talented arms. They know what they're good at, and I kind of just feed off of them. Let them take control of the game, and I'm just there to help keep them right there where they need to be.”

After climbing back to .500 on the season with the win and ending Sanford’s perfect record on the road, the Nighthawks will once again look to secure a winning record for the first time this season on Saturday against the Ocean State Waves (5-8).

First pitch at the Maxfield Sports Complex is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.