Knights

Photo: Kailey Lane/Nashua Silver Knights

To sustain a lengthy winning streak, many factors come into play. One of those many factors include being “clutch”. In an eight-game streak already filled with heroic acts, Holy Cross’s Jack Toomey took center stage with the game on the line.

Nashua took their ninth straight win over Vermont on Thursday, walking off a 4-3 victory at Historic Holman Stadium. In the ninth inning, Toomey wasted no time sending the Nashua faithful home happy with a leadoff solo home run into the left field cabana on only the third pitch of the at bat. Toomey’s blast marks his second on the season, giving the Crusader freshman his seventh RBI of the season in what will most definitely be his most memorable.

Thursday’s 6:00 PM matchup was Nashua and Vermont’s second game in a three-game stretch against one another. After a Knights win in Vermont, the teams shifted down to Nashua for the next two games in Holman. Eastern Connecticut’s Nolan Lincoln got the start for the Silver Knights, searching for his third win of the year. Babson’s Tim Noone took the ball for Vermont, looking to end Nashua’s hot streak and avenge their loss the previous night.

In a deadlock through three, Nashua broke the shutout by manufacturing a run on an RBI groundout from Wake Forest’s Chris Katz in the fourth. Vanderbilt’s Ray Velazquez singled his way aboard to start the inning, stealing two bags to set himself up on third for Katz.

After getting out to a 1-0 lead, Nashua kept on coming in the fifth. After getting runners on second and third with no outs, two unproductive outs by Nashua put on the heat to score. St. Thomas Aquinas’s Andrew Jemison stayed cool in the big spot, smoking a single to left for one run. Velazquez followed Drew, coming up big in his 4-4 evening with an RBI single to make it 3-0 Nashua.

Looking to cruise to another win, the Knights went to their reliable bullpen to aid them towards the win. Vermont, looking to avoid their third straight loss against Nashua, had other plans. Vermont would chip away from the lead, adding one run each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Their comeback included a nuke from Brown’s Ryan Marra along with two RBI singles to knot things back up 3-3 in the top of the eighth.

Keeping the Lake Monster quiet in the ninth, the ball was now in Nashua’s court to try and end things. Before the suspense could build up, Toomey turned out the lights with his walk off “jack”.

Another day, another win for the Silver Knights. Their second walk off victory in the last week pushed them to nine straight victories. Looking to hit double digits, the Knights will try for their 10th straight win against Vermont at 6:00 PM on Friday.