Nater Wachter’s Three-Run Blast Highlights Sanford’s 12-4 Win at Upper Valley

By Cole Purvis

Director of Broadcasting and Media

HARTFORD, V.T. - Sanford improved its road record to 3-0 on Wednesday, clobbering the Upper Valley Nighthawks 12-4 in Vermont. 

Rain fell steadily in the hour leading up to game time, causing a 15 minute delay. It continued to drizzle during the early stages of the game, and then subsided, although the damp grass still played a heavy role in the game.

The Nighthawks struck first in the bottom of the second when right fielder Levi Jones hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring William Hurt to put the home side up 1-0.

The Mainers answered in the second. With runners on second and third, Jacob Harring grounded out to second, and Sam Miller scored to knot the contest at 1-1.

Sanford starting pitcher Drew Sliwkowski worked into the third inning. He was ultimately chased before he could get out of the frame. Upper Valley loaded the bases, and got one run in when shortstop Tim Dickinson grounded into an RBI double-play to make it 2-1. In the fourth, with Sanford reliever Michael Bradshaw in the game, Upper Valley tacked on one more, as Cameron Boardman scored Levi Jones on a run-producing groundout.

Then, the Mainers' offense would take over. Steven Kraus hit an RBI single, bringing home Harring to cut the deficit to one. Then, UConn product Nater Wachter stepped in with two runners on base and drilled a home run over the left field fence. The first Sanford long-ball of the season put the Moose up 5-3.

"Got the monkey off our back, that was good, we've been waiting for that," Mainers manager Nic Lops said when discussing the homer. "A timely one too. Down in the game, hadn't really had much going. That's a big momentum shift."

Fast-forward to the seventh, where Brian Connolly's infield single tacked another on the board. The mistakes then began to pile up for the Nighthawks who shortly after, made a throwing error on a grounder to short by Miller. It scored Connolly and Antonio Morales, who made his season debut. The three-run frame made it 8-3.

Upper Valley's defense continued to hurt itself in the ninth. Harring singled up the middle to drive in two more, and then Wachter walked with the bases loaded. Morales's RBI groundout would be the final Sanford run of the game, and the Mainers would go on to take it 12-4. 

"You just have to focus on what you can control, and weather is not one of those things," said Lops, who applauded the way his team dealt with the poor weather.

The Moose take on the Keene Swamp Bats this Friday at Goodall Park, a squad they fell to earlier in the week. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.