Nighthawks Head to North Adams for Father's Day Faceoff With SteepleCats

By Thaddeus Sawyer

After moving over .500 for the first time this season on Saturday night, the Nighthawks will have a golden opportunity to add another tally to the win column on Father’s Day.

The Nighthawks (7-6-1) will travel to Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Massachusetts, for the second time this season to take on the SteepleCats (1-12).

Since the last time these two teams played just over a week ago, a Friday night contest that Nighthawks won handily, not much has changed for the SteepleCats.

North Adams did split a doubleheader last Sunday against the Sanford Mainers (10-4) for their first win of the season, but the SteepleCats remain buried in last place in the North Division and hold the worst record in the league. They are currently riding a six-game slide after once again losing Saturday night, 8-4 at home to the Keene SwampBats (8-4-1). They’ve yet to win a game at home this season.

The SteepleCats rank dead last in the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Not so coincidentally, they’ve scored the least runs in the league on the year with 39. The next lowest mark is the North Shore Navigators (6-7) with 61 runs scored.

The Nighthawks, on the other hand, have been heating up. In addition to a comeback 5-4 win on Saturday against the Ocean State Waves, Upper Valley has won three of their last four games dating back to Tuesday's contest against the Vermont Mountaineers (5-9).

Facing the stumbling SteepleCats lineup will be Karl Ralamb, who started nine of his 18 appearances for Bellarmine University this past spring but has yet to make a start for the Nighthawks.

In three appearances for the Nighthawks, the right-hander has tossed 8 1/3 frames to the tune of a 2.16 ERA. The redshirt senior has struck nine batters and has maintained a WHIP below 1.00.

“The preparation's a little different, but it's the same game,” Ralamb said. “The warmup's the same, everything's the same. You’ve just got more time, and you know when you're gonna throw.”

The saving grace of the SteepleCats’ lineup has been center fielder Evan Meier. Slashing .294/.442/.382, he leads the SteepleCats in each triple slash category through 43 plate appearances.  

Meier walked once in four plate appearances against the Nighthawks in the first meeting between the two clubs, striking out twice. The Mount St. Mary’s junior got the night off against Keene on Saturday.

Fellow outfielder Chris Diaz has also posted a respectable .263/.349/.368 slash line across 43 plate appearances.

The biggest threat to the Nighthawks may be fatigue, as Sunday’s contest marks their fifth consecutive day with a game. Still, Nighthawks manager Chase Allen believes his team is in good baseball shape.

“We play a lot of games in a short amount of time, and I think the guys are in shape for that,” Allen said. “I think they're taking care of the stuff off the field, which is how you're able to play all these games in a row, whether it be your nutrition, water intake, [hydration], sleep. I think they're doing a great job in the weight room. I hear them talking all the time. They razz each other on who's doing what and who's skipping. 
They're taking care of themselves off the field, and that helps to stay healthy on the field.”

It would be hard to argue that shortstop Frank Kelly is anything but in baseball shape. The High Point University infielder doubled in Saturday’s game and has driven in five runs through seven games.

Third baseman James Love has also shown no signs of slowing down, reaching base twice on Saturday for the fourth straight game.

Middle infielder Alejandro Puig also had four RBIs last week as he continues to see more consistent playing time.

Slugging first baseman Charley Magoulick will also likely return to the lineup on Sunday after getting a rest day Saturday while in the midst of a cold stretch at the plate.

First pitch in North Adams is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game will stream live on NECBL+.