After a day of dodging rain and clouds, the sun finally broke through at Holman Stadium, seeking the return of Knight baseball following a suspension of Friday’s game versus Norwich. Tonight, the home side faced off against the New Britain Bees. Despite the delays and uncertainty about the game, the spirit never left the park, as the Knights came into this one ready to play.
The Knights’ starter in this one was Will Perkowski out of Dayton, and he shoved in this one. The righty arm started slow, as he allowed a hit to the New Britain leadoff man. From there on, it was all perfection for Perkowski, as seven of his nine outs in three innings were via the punchout. That would be his final line on the day, as he was pulled after the third inning.
On the other side of the ball, the Knights offense got started in the second inning as Dylan Littlefield and River Hart got on board. Littlefield would score later in the inning to give the Knights a 1-0 lead heading into the third. The third marked another rally for the Knights offense as the top of the order in Ernie Little, Anthony Grabau got on with singles. Little would end up coming around to score on a Jake Haarde sac fly to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. By the fifth, the Knights knocked starter Colin Blake out of the game and they took full advantage of this as they rallied men on base however they could not capitalize to drive them in.
The Knight bullpen in this one was good following Perkowski as Andrew Chenevert would come on in the fourth. He would go four innings as he also tossed a shutout for the Knights. He also would get a bunch of outs via the punchout as five of his twelve outs were via the K.
The score going into the bottom of the seventh was 2-0 Knights however that would change rather quickly as eight batters came to the plate in the inning. Cole Patterson started the inning off with a double which was followed by a Little hit and then a Grabau walk. The Knights would get Patterson, Little, and Grabau to score as they made the score 5-0. They were not done in the inning however as Hart got back on track he doubled to drive in Haarde who walked earlier in the inning. At the end of seven, the Knights led 6-0.
The Knights would send in Josh Florence following the offensive explosion and lock in. He tossed a scoreless inning and following him Lucas Rondeau would shut the door in the ninth to help the Knights secure a big win at home versus the Bees.
The pitching staff in this one was phenomenal as in their nine innings of work they allowed no runs on two hits while only allowing three men on base by walks. They also tallied thirteen outs in the game from the strikeout. Offensively Little and Littlefield both had three hits to carry the team to the win in this one. Grabau and Patterson would also have two hits.
The Knights are back in action tomorrow versus the Bravehearts on the road. They will have a week-long road trip before they come back home on Saturday for their annual police and fire game at Holman Stadium.
