White River Junction, VT – The Upper Valley Nighthawks fought hard but came up short in Friday’s home game versus the Newport Gulls. Despite comeback attempts by the Hawks in the 3rd and 5th innings, the Gulls took the 8-4 victory.

Newport jumped out to an early lead, scoring 6 runs in the first three innings. Upper Valley responded in the bottom of the third with two runs, thanks to an RBI double by Chris Baillargeon and a sacrifice fly from Gehrig Frei. They added two more runs in the fifth, highlighted by an RBI single from Evan Lizama and a groundout by Michael Ballard that brought another run home. Despite closing the gap a bit to 7-4 in the fifth inning, the Nighthawks’ offense struggled against Newport’s bullpen. The Gulls tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning, making it 8-4.

Standout Players:

Frank Ciccone finished the game for Upper Valley with two scoreless innings, striking out two.

Ethan Lizama: 2-for-3 with an RBI, sparking the Nighthawks’ mid-game rally.

Jacob Keys: 2-for-4, continuing his hot hitting with a .500 average on the season.

Despite a valiant effort, the Nighthawks couldn’t recover from the Gulls’ early offense. Upper Valley will play the Vermont Mountaineers Saturday in Montpelier.