The Nashua Silver Knights returned from the All-Star break looking for a reset after a tough six-game losing streak. Hoping to turn the tide, they faced off against a familiar foe — the Vermont Lake Monsters — the same team that handed them their most recent loss before the break. With fresh energy and a sense of urgency, the Knights aimed to snap the skid and get back in the win column.
The Knights battled hard at home but ultimately fell short, suffering their seventh straight loss in an 8-3 defeat to the Vermont Lake Monsters. Nashua was hoping to reset and change the momentum. Still, familiar struggles resurfaced as Vermont took control early and never let their lead up, handing the Knights yet another tough result.
The Knights from the start were battling from behind as starter Andrew Chenevert ran into some trouble early. The Lake Monsters would get multiple runners aboard, which would lead to them scoring their first run of the ballgame and grabbing the early lead.
Then Vermont would tack on three more in the 3rd to push their lead to four runs as they would knock Chenevert out of this one. He logged 3 IP with 4 ER on 5 H. Nashua’s offense would respond however in the bottom half of the 4th as they were able to tack one run on the board as Matt Jackson homered to deep right field.
Following Chenvert, Hunter Ward would enter the game for Nashua, and he was good as he gave them two strong innings of relief. However, in the 6th, he would get knocked out of the game as Vermont would strike again, putting two more runs up on the board to make it 6-1. Vermont would tack on two more in the 7th and 8th as their lead swelled to seven with them needing just three outs for a win.
The Knights would not make the victory easy for Vermont as they put up a fight. They were able to get the bases loaded in the 9th, where they would score two runs on a missed throw to first, giving them some life at the end of the game. This was all they could muster, however, as they would fall in the end 8-3.
The Lake Monsters were led offensively by Leondro Guevara, who went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBIs. Their pitching was also great as starter Romel Roca went four innings, only giving up one run. For Nashua, their offense was paced by Jackson as he went 2-4 with the HR. Pitching-wise, Kyan Baghshaw would toss them a scoreless 9th as he made his first outing in 16 days.
This loss marks the Knights’ seventh straight loss, and after the game, Outfielder Jake Haarde said that “It can be challenging when new faces show up, but we have a great core group of guys, so once we get used to the new faces and build some team chemistry, we will be just fine”. This is the mentality that the Knights will want as they look to write the ship heading into August. Their goal of raising banner number seven is still within reach as they look to make a late-season push.
