Knights

Photo: Kailey Lane/Nashua Silver Knights

Nashua won via mercy rule on Thursday evening, taking out the Pittsfield Suns 14-1. Vanderbilt’s Ray Velazquez and Northeastern’s Carmelo Musacchia delivered the highlights in this one, both hitting three run home runs that traveled a country mile. Six of the nine Silver Knight hitters posted RBIs in this contest, with Melo collecting three and Ray getting four.

Besides the long ball, the Knights would also dink and dunk the Suns to get men aboard. After Velazquez’s bomb in the first, two more runs came across on Northeastern’s Greg Bozzo’s bloop RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Niagra’s Brady Desjardins.

Velazquez would continue bringing the hurt in the second, hitting a sacrifice fly for his fourth RBI in just two innings. Two hits in front of Ray would set the table for Vandy’s freshman, including a double from UMass’s Will MacLean to give Nashua second and third with no outs.

With a 7-0 lead, the Knights would stay put for a few frames. Pressure stayed off the pitching staff’s shoulders, working with a big lead. Nashua’s arms would still get the job done, only giving up one run. Cole Glassburn got the win, giving him his seventh win of the season for a FCBL record. In a day full of offense, the pitching still held up on their end.

After three scoreless frames, the Silver Knight offense went from high heat to scorched earth. A seven-run inning in the sixth doubled their runs and set up a potential mercy rule victory. A couple errors and sacrifices started the inning off with two runs coming across, including a RBI single from Maryland’s Zach Martin. Nichol’s Johnny Knox came in off the bench and kept the line moving, singling to bring two more runs home. Now with a 11-1 lead, fans started to clue in on the mercy rule potential coming into play.

With an inevitable loss impending, the Pittsfield Suns looked to escape the sixth inning and stop the bleeding. Down 11-1, the Suns needed to tread water to avoid a potential mercy rule loss. Northeastern’s Carmelo Musacchia was due up with two men on and on the third pitch of the at bat, Melo rang the final bell with a knockout blow.

Musacchia, already with two hits on the day, put the exclamation point on the ballgame and locked in the mercy win with his three-run blast. Melo blasted one of the hardest hit balls yet this season, staying fair and finding the left field trees for a 14-1 Knights lead.

Nashua wrapped up the ballgame with ease as the Knights set home early, finishing the game in seven. Following two straight home wins, the Knights will take their three-game win streak on the road for the weekend stretch.

Nashua will be back in action in Brockton, MA for their Friday matchup. First pitch between the Knights and Rox is set for 7:00 PM.