The Nashua Silver Knights brought the energy back to Holman Stadium on a jam-packed night featuring the return of Monkey Boy, the release of the team’s baseball cards, and plenty of fanfare. With a lively crowd behind them, the Knights looked to deliver a win, but despite trading blows with the New Britain Bees throughout the game, they ultimately fell short in a 12–6 loss.
The Knights would trot out one of their best pitchers, Andrew Chenevert, and he would start the game off great, as through his first three innings, he would only give up a run, keeping the Knights on the right side of the scoreboard.
The offense would do their part to start this ballgame, as in the 3rd inning, they were able to get a rally going. The Knights would load the bases with two outs, and following that, the New Britain pitcher would walk Cole Patterson to give the Knights their first run. Then he would do it again as he walked Joey current to give the Knights the 2-0 lead.
Following the Knights’ burst in the 3rd, the pitching would fall apart, as the Bees were able to tack on two runs in the 4th. This would end the day for Chenevert as he pitched decently; however, he left with Nashua trailing by one.
The 6th marked a pivotal point in the ballgame as both teams traded blows; however, the Bees would do more as they damaged Nashua’s already depleted bullpen. The Bees would rally for three in the inning as they would score two on a Tim Henning triple to the right field corner. Nashua bats would respond in the bottom half of the frame as they got going. They would score two of their own on a Chase Roberts single as he drove in Jake Haarde and Joe Zorc to cut the deficit to two. They would add one more before the inning was over, as Matt Jackson would single in Roberts to cut it to one.
Both teams would go scoreless in both the 7th and 8th innings; however, in the 9th, the Knights just collapsed like they did a few innings ago. With Hunter Ward in the ballgame, the Bees went to work. They would rally off 6 runs on 5 hits, with three scoring on a David Pengel triple to right to give them a commanding seven-run lead. The Knights would strike back in the bottom half as Matt Jackson would hit a home run that was originally ruled a ground-rule double. This was one of the weirdest calls all season and probably in the history of the league. That was all for Nashua as they would fall to their fourth straight. They keep getting hurt by big innings at the end of games.
This could be the last time the Famous Monkey Boy could be seen at Holman Stadium, and he said that “It could be the last time ever, it was great, this is a special place for me, and every time I’m here it feels like I’m going back in time”.
Centerfielder Cole Patterson also noted postgame after 4 straight losses, “We have had a lot of guys cycle in and out, and it’s a little tough getting used to that; however, with this crew I think we will be fine”. They will play tomorrow as they host the Lake Monsters at home.
