It was another big night in the city of Nashua as the Silver Knights hosted the Vermont Lake Monsters at Holman Stadium in a classic pitcher’s duel. Both teams brought their best on the mound, keeping the offenses quiet for most of the night. For much of the game, it was a grind-it-out battle with just one run separating the two squads. But late in the game, Vermont gave itself some breathing room as a clutch home run from Shaun McMillan in the 9th to extend the lead and give the Monster a 3-1 lead.
The pitching was there from start to finish for Nashua as they trotted out Scott Longo for the start. Longo, the lefty, was in control of the game even though the Lake Monsters had runners on in both the 1st and 3rd. Longo was able to escape both instances as Vermont left two on base in both frames.
The same would be the story for Vermont starter Adam Schwartz. Schwartz would struggle in the first inning as he would let up the team’s lone run; however, from there, he had a great outing. The lone run for Nashua was produced by a double by Ernie Little, who had just come back from injury. From there, Patrick Shrake would advance him, and Matt Jackson would drive him in to make it 1-0. Schwartz would end up tossing 4 ⅔ innings; however, the one thing he lacked in his start was control, as he allowed five walks.
Then the bullpens would take over for both their starters. For Vermont, they featured just one arm in Jack McLaughlin for the majority of the game, as he was able to go three innings for his team without giving up a run.
The Nashua bullpen would be great until it all fell apart. In immediate relief, Rob Gilchrist and Hunter Ward were great; however, following Ward’s appearance, Nahsua ran into trouble. Brandon Metivier entered the game as the Knights’ closer. He would pitch a scoreless 8th, however, in the 9th, with a one-run lead, Vermont would strike.
The Lake Monsters would get two runners aboard for all-star McMillan, who has been a home-run threat this season for the Monsters. He would turn a metivier pitch around and launch it over the wall for a three-run homer, turning the game around on one pitch. McMillan now has 8 home runs on the year and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Knights, following the blown save and lead, would go back to work in the bottom half of the frame, hoping to get back in it with a new Vermont pitcher in Sean Gamble on the mound. The Knights would be able to get runners to second and third with one out; however, the offense could not drive them in as they lost a nail-biter at home.
