Knights

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

By: Dan Allison | Silver Knights media relations

Once a rainout on June 2nd, the Bees and the Silver Knights strapped up their cleats to play two on Wednesday with their first game picking up where they left off. Nashua, with a 3-1 lead in the second inning of the resumed game, coasted to a game-one win 8-2. But with the Knights going for the sweep in game two, the Bees battled back to win the second matchup 6-4 in the seven-inning ballgame.

Ironic enough, the 3-1 standstill score from a few weeks ago stayed as is in the first frames of game one. Saint Anselm’s Andrew Chenevert pitched a gem in his third start, only giving up one hit in four and ⅔ innings to earn himself the win. 

Franklin Pierce’s Esteban Rivera pitched well to start the game for the Bees, but it was only a matter of time til Nashua got to him. SNHU’s Nater Wachter, in his first game with the Silver Knights, doubled in the sixth to bring home the first new run of the ballgame. Nashua would score another run on a New Britain error to make it 5-1 after six.

Nashua scored another three runs before the game closed, cruising to an 8-2 victory. For game two, the Knights would send Steven’s Erik Sibbach to the bump for his fourth appearance of the summer.

Sibbach, who has pitched well in his first couple of outings as Knight, struggled against the Bees lineup. St. John’s Jimmy Keenan wasted no time putting his name in the box score, with a RBI triple in the second and a two-run homer in the third. Molloy’s Garrett Scavelli joined Keenan in the third with a home run of his own. As New Britain took down Sibbach’s number, it was 5-0 Bees early.

New Britain’s lead would reach 6-0 before the Nashua scoring began. In a deep hole, the Knights would get a few runs back thanks to Penn’s Jake Moss walking the bases loaded with two runners coming across to make it 6-2 in the fourth.

Nashua would find another scoring opportunity in the sixth, with Endicott’s Dylan Pacheco making his way to third after a leadoff walk. In a big spot, the Knights turned to Wachter to pinch-hit. Wachter would send a bounding ball to third that got past the third basemen to bring Pacheco home. In just three at-bats as a Knight, Wachter was already responsible for bringing home two runs.

Down 6-3 heading to the seventh and final frame, the Knights would have to try and start a rally off Brown’s Peter Dubie. Dubie would struggle to start the inning, giving up two singles and hitting a batter. Now with the bases loaded and no outs, the Holman crowd started to get into it.

Amherst’s Jack McDermott stepped in for the big at-bat, being no stranger to clutch hitting. Unfortunately for Nashua, McDermott would not be able to beat out a groundball to short as New Britain would turn a heartbreaking double play.

Nashua would get one home in the seventh but go down quietly after the 6-4-3, giving the Bees a 6-4 victory to salvage the doubleheader.

Now sitting at 7-18 on the year after going 1-1 on Wednesday, the Knights will continue their homestand by welcoming in Vermont on Thursday. Nashua and the Lake Monsters are set for a 6:00 PM first pitch at Holman Stadium.