Knights

Thursday, August 1, 2024

By: Dan Allison | Silver Knights media relations

It’s the final week of baseball at Historic Holman Stadium, with the Silver Knights home slate coming to a close before a weekend trip to Vermont. A rain cancellation on Wednesday dwindled the amount of baseball left for the 2024 Knights, but the Knights made up for it with a masterclass of a 6-1 win on Thursday night.

Northeastern’s Cam Keaveney was lights out in his seventh start, striking out eleven on one hit in six innings. With the most strikeouts from a Silver Knight this season, and four from tying the league single-game record, Nashua could coast behind the Exeter native’s best performance of the summer.

Through three innings, the Silver Knights were also silenced at the plate. Nashua was able to generate foot traffic early but nothing came of it on the scoreboard. 

UMass Dartmouth’s Seamus Marshall was skating by early, getting two outs in the fourth after a leadoff single from Richmond’s Brady O’Brien. Things were not looking promising for NSK, but a gritty walk worked by Endicott’s James Benestad prolonged the inning with runners on first and second. 

Due up was Siena’s Jeff Valdez. Valdez, back in the lineup after a few games off, was hungry for a shot at the plate. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Valdez rocketed a moonshot to left field that just went foul. Jeff’s blast cleared the left field picnic table and cabana, raising eyebrows of the Holman faithful in the lengthy appearance.

Two pitches later, Valdez did not miss his second shot with a laser of a home run to clear the left-field brick wall. His first homer of the season via the three-run shot put him at 19 RBI on the season, good for fifth most on the team. 

The team's RBI leader, Keene State’s Tommy Ahlers, kept the train rolling with a deep drive to left for an RBI triple. Ahlers is now tied once again for the league lead at 34 with the Knights leading 4-0.

After Keaveney, the Nashua bullpen followed his tempo. Endicott’s Matt Pappalardo was excellent in one and ⅔ innings, striking out four with no hits. UMass Lowell’s Andres Hulfachor took the baton following the righty, looking for the final four outs.

Nashua added two more runs to the lead to make it 6-0. One run squeezed across for the Warriors off of Hulfachor in the ninth, but three punchouts were enough to seal the deal in a resounding victory.

Three arms that combined for 18 strikeouts and just one hit put together one of the best staff performances the Knights have seen this summer on the second-to-last home game of the year. Heading into Friday, Nashua will look for more fireworks in their final home game of 2024.

New Britain will head into Holman on Friday, with the Bees and Silver Knights set for a 6:00 PM first pitch.