Knights

Friday, June 28, 2024

By: Dan Allison | Silver Knights media relations

Once an offense that felt out of sync, the Silver Knight lineup came together for seven runs in a Friday victory over Vermont 7-4. Late-inning scoring once again came in huge for Nashua, as the “Rally Knights” struck again at Holman Stadium.

Nashua putting across four runs in the seventh and two in the eighth marks the third game in the last week that the Silver Knights have scored three or more runs in the seventh inning or later, now winning their last six of ten home games.

An evening that had 17 hits and 11 combined runs didn’t always have the making of a slugfest, with the Knights holding a 1-0 lead through six innings. Southern Maine’s Jason Libby kept the six-game win streak Lake Monsters at zero in his three and ⅔ inning start, with AIC’s Anderson Cuello Batista carrying the torch with two and ⅓ frames of scoreless baseball.

In the third, Stonehill’s Nate Kearney continued to swing a hot bat with an RBI single to chalk up the scoreboard. Kearney now sports a four-game hitting streak with four RBI in the span. Vermont led the hit department for the whole ballgame, but it was 1-0 Knights regardless.

Vermont finally applied pressure on the seventh, getting to Wake Forest’s Andrew Koshy. Koshy walked a runner home to tie it up 1-1 with the Lake Monsters still threatening with loaded bases. With nowhere to put another VT runner, Koshy struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

Now a brand new ballgame, the Silver Knights responded with a four-run inning. Pace’s Ben Tullo and Bryant’s Eliot Medlock led off with base knocks to set up Keene State’s Tommy Ahlers as he smoked a ball up the middle for two runs to score.

Nashua’s bullpen ran into another bump in the eighth, with Vermont getting three of UMass Lowell’s Andres Hulfachor to raise the tension.

Only holding a one-run lead, the Knights’ lineup again answered the call with two runs coming in off wild pitches and walks. Lehigh’s Liam O’Hearen got the ball in the ninth, now holding a comfortable three-run lead. O’Hearen struck out two in a quick, painless inning to close the door for a Nashua victory.

Nashua now sits at 13-16 on the season, the Knights look to make a weekend push to climb back into the standings race. They will look to replicate their success on Saturday with another meeting at home against Vermont. Nashua and the Lake Monsters are set for a 6:00 PM first pitch tomorrow night.