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Twenty Hits Not Enough in Loss to Nighthawks
10:02PM / Friday, July 21, 2017
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The North Adams SteepleCats slugged out 20 hits on Friday night, but it was not enough in a 9-7 loss to the Upper Valley Nighthawks at Joe Wolfe Field.
 
The SteepleCats outhit the visiting Nighthawks 20-9, but left 13 runners on base to fall to the first place team in the NECBL Northern Division.
 
Three unearned runs started the game for the Upper Valley, allowing the Nighthawks to take a 3-0 lead with the aid of only one hit. Matt Sanders (Troy) reached on an error as the game's leadoff hitter, and Anthony Godino (Wagner) was hit by a pitch. Ryan Jeffers (UNC Wilmington) singled to left, and an error allowed both Sanders and Godino to score. A sacrifice fly from Luke Reynolds (Southern Mississippi) made it 3-0 before North Adams could come to the plate.
 
JJ Shimko (South Carolina Upstate) started the North Adams offense with a leadoff double, and scored the first run of the game when Dillon Paulson (USC) singled to drive in his 19th run of the season.
 
Upper Valley pushed its lead back to three runs in the top of the second, thanks to one swing of the bat from the first batter of the inning. Cade Sorrells (Lipscomb) drilled a pitch over the right center field wall for his first home run of the season. Sorrells' first homer stretched the Nighthawk lead to 4-1.
 
North Adams' biggest inning of the game came in the bottom of the second, when the SteepleCats answered the Nighthawk offense with three runs of their own. Jake Ackerman (Mission College) hit one of his four singles, and Curtis Godin (UCLA) followed with a walk. The next three SteepleCat hitters all drove in runs- Shimko on a double, Ryan Schalch (Pacific) on a groundout, and Paulson on his second single of the night.
 
The SteepleCats took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the third. Bryce Peterson (UCF) drilled a deep home run, his second of the season. Schalch added his second RBI of the night with a two-out single, which plated Ackerman.
 
A big hit in the top of the fourth inning pushed the lead back into the Nighthawks' possession, where it remained for the rest of the contest. Upper Valley loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk, all of which came with the first two outs recorded. Godino made the 'Cats pay with a grand slam, driving in his 30th run of the season and giving Upper Valley an 8-6 lead.
 
The Nighthawks added another run in the top of the fifth, again going ahead of the SteepleCats by three runs. Reynolds led off the frame with a single, and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Sorrells.
 
Braxton Wilks (Abilene Christian) led a stellar bullpen effort for the 'Cats, who retired 14 consecutive hitters from the fifth inning on. Wilks retired all nine batters he faced with three strikeouts. Peterson came in for Wilks in the eighth inning, and worked a 1-2-3 frame to shut down the potent Upper Valley offense.
 
Three singles in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Cory Gill (Troy) saw the SteepleCats threaten in the bottom of the ninth. Peterson and Liam Sabino (Pittsburgh) each singled, and a wild pitch allowed Peterson to score the seventh North Adams run. Tyler Walters (Slippery Rock) added a pinch-hit single to put the tying run on base, but was left stranded to end the game.
 
The SteepleCats now embark on a weekend roadtrip, which begins Saturday night in Danbury, Conn. North Adams will look to sweep the season series with the Danbury Westerners at Rogers Park. Ryan Tapp (UNC Asheville) will look to continue his string of solid starts for the 'Cats.
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