Blue Sox shut out 3-0 by Nighthawks, marks 5th loss in a row

By Mary Merensky

HOLYOKE – The Valley Blue Sox (8-10-1) were shut out 3-0 by the Upper Valley Nighthawks (10-9-1) on Monday night, marking their fifth consecutive loss.

Mitchel Brown (Nichols) got the start in his Blue Sox debut and began the first inning by loading the bases for Upper Valley. William Hurt (Virginia Tech) hit a sac fly out to center field to bring the run home, putting the Nighthawks up 1-0. 

The Blue Sox also had a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the frame, but were unable to find a way to score a run. 

Levi Jones (San Diego St.) singled to right field in the second, followed by Frank Kelly (High Point) getting hit by a pitch, which moved Jones into scoring position. An error by the first baseman, Chris Carson (Stony Brook),  is what ultimately led to the Nighthawks scoring two unearned runs, extending their lead to 3-0. 

Despite a bit of a rusty start for Brown, he was able to clean up his pitching as the game progressed, allowing just three hits between the third and sixth, finishing the night with four strikeouts and a 1.64 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched. 

Jon Shields (Angelo State) made his Blue Sox debut as well when he replaced Brown in the middle of the sixth inning. Shields did not give up any hits or runs and had one strikeout in the 1.2 innings he pitched. 

Lukas Jachens (SUNY Oneonta) entered the game in the eighth inning, allowing just one hit and striking out two batters, finishing off the Blue Sox’s strong pitching performance. 

Valley’s downfall ended up being their lack of offense and errors, which are areas that have lacked consistency throughout the season for the team.

The Blue Sox will hope to end this five-game skid on Tuesday, June 30, when they head to Montpelier Recreation Field to face the Vermont Mountaineers. The game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on NECBL+.