The Nashua Silver Knights traveled to New Britain to take on the Bees, looking to close out a challenging road trip that, to say the least, hadn’t gone their way. Entering the matchup on a losing skid and sitting at 6–7 on the season, the Knights were searching for a spark to get back on track and return to .500 baseball.
The spark, however, may not have been that out of reach, as the Knights would have their Friday starter on the mound in this one, Will Perkowski. Perkowski has been arguably the Knights’ best pitcher this season, as he consistently pitches well. In this one, the arm from Dayton would pitch well; however, it was still an up-and-down start. In the first, the Knights starter would get his first three batters, as New Britain would go down in order.
The Knights’ offense started slow in this one as they were unable to get any runners on base in the first couple of innings. In the second Perkowski would get into some minimal trouble as he would allow a run to score in the inning making the score 1-0 Bees. The Bees would again knock on the door in the third inning as they would get to Perkowski again. This time it was off the bat of Brendan Staubley who doubled. The Knights arm would go until the fourth as he finished his day only letting up two runs in four innings pitched.
The Knights bullpen would come on and impress. Brennan Rumpf, Brandon Metivier, and Lucas Rondo would all come on and toss scoreless frames with Rumpf going two innings following Perkowski. This allowed time for the Knights offense to gain steam however it never really came until the 9th.
In the top of the 9th, the Knights offense would rally coming out of the shadows. Anthony Grabau would start off the inning as he singled to get some traffic on base. With two outs Jack Balcer would also single to put two on. The line would keep moving as Ryan Strand came aboard on an error from the second baseman which resulted in a run scored for Nashua. The Knights were not done however as the two-out rally continued. Will Burns would have a clutch single to tie the game at two as the Knights completed the 9th-inning comeback to get back into the game.
Rondo would come back to toss the ninth and he was great as he was able to hold the Bees and retire the first two batters. He would then allow a walk however and things got tight. Following a walk there would be a single to put runners at first and second. Then the next batter Ryan Perez would single to center field to end the game and seal the win for the Bees. The Knights will be back at home tomorrow for the start of a long homestand.
