Knights

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

By: Dan Allison | Silver Knights media relations

Last Friday, the Historic Holman Stadium crowd emptied the seating bowl disappointed after a zero-home run performance by Shane Wockley. Mount St. Mary’s lefty bat came up short in a home run derby tiebreaker vs Brockton, giving Nashua their twelfth loss of the season. Fast forward to not even a week later, Wockley is becoming a Nashua hero.

Nashua won their third game of the season, snapping a nine-game skid. On the back of their first baseman’s 4-4, three RBI day, the Knights were able to top Norwich 5-2.

As a misty haze lurked over Holman, SNHU’s Will Perkowski got ready to make his Silver Knight debut. New Boston’s graduating senior pitched well in his first start but was victim to some unfortunate bounces. 

A leadoff error set up Perkowski in a tough spot to start off the game, with the Sea Unicorns putting up two runs in the top of the first. Perkowski would settle down in his remaining three frames of work, finishing with only one earned run on four hits.

Once again in an early hole, the Knights would do something that has been a rare sight in 2023: Comeback. Not too long after Norwich’s two-run frame, Wockley would start off his big day with a mammoth solo blast to energize the Tuesday crowd.

Nashua and Norwich would stay deadlocked at 2-1 for a few frames before a big Knight offensive display came through in the fifth. St. Thomas Aquinas’s Nick O’Connor would start it off with a lead-off single before two misplays in the field by Norwich would juice the bases.

Amherst’s Jack McDermott would record his second straight day with an RBI in the big spot, smoking a two-RBI single to take the lead 3-2. After a quick second out, Wockley stepped in for a second time and once again delivered. Wockley laced a ball down the first base line to bring in two more to make the lead 5-2 after five.

Now with a three-run lead in hand, Nashua turned to the bullpen to get them to the finish line. Northeastern’s Ryan Griffin and Assumption’s Alex Meesig both threw two innings in relief, impressing with three strikeouts and only one hit combined between the two. 

Heading to the ninth, Nashua would welcome back SNHU’s George Welch to his usual closer role as he made his first appearance of 2023. In familiar Welch fashion, the third-year Silver Knight ended the game with three strikeouts to give Nashua a huge sigh of relief in a drought-ending win.

Now back in the win column, Nashua will look to keep the momentum going with another home game. Westfield will head into Historic Holman Stadium to face the Knights at 6:00 PM on Wednesday.