The Nashua Silver Knights returned to Holman Stadium this afternoon and responded the right way following a loss last night. Behind a strong showing from the nine-hole in Chase Roberts and steady work from the bullpen, the Knights pulled out a hard-fought 7–5 win over the New Britain Bees.
It was the perfect way to close out a rollercoaster week, as Nashua wrapped things up on a high note. The Knights have now continued their strong track record against New Britain, a team they’ve handled well all season long.
Ethan Hunt would trot out on the mound for the knights in this one as he would get off to a shaky start as the Bees got right off the bus and went to work. Hunt would let up a run as the Bees were able to get two runners aboard in scoring position.
The Nashua offense however quickly responded as they got their starter some help. In the bottom half of the frame, James Benestad would single to drive in a run and tie the game at one after the 1st. The home side would also tack on two more in the second inning as they would grow their lead to 3-1. This time it would be Jack Balcer and Patrick Shrake driving in runs as they gave their pitcher some cushion to work with.
The pitching for Nashua would hold until the 6th where Hunt ran into some trouble. With the lead at 3-1, the Bees were able to load the bases and put the Knights in a rough position as they pulled their starter. The bullpen would come in and do their work; however, with no outs, this was going to be an uphill battle for Brandon Metivier. He would do alright as he looked to work out of the jam. He allowed one earned run as he allowed four to come across to score in the inning with three of the runs being charged to Hunt. The inning, however, was just getting started as the Knights began a hit party of their own following the three-run Bees rally in the top half of the inning.
To start the rally in the bottom half of the frame Joey Current and Will Shaheen would both single to draw aboard. From there Dave Yorke would rip the club’s third single of the inning as he would drive in Current to put the home side within one. Nashua would take the lead back in a major way as Roberts would double into the gap and score both Shaheen and Yorke giving the Knights a 6-5 lead.
Nashua would tack on another in the 7th as they would give their bullpen some much-needed insurance as Jake Haarde would get back on track as he doubled a run in. From there the bullpen duo of Hunter Ward and Kyan Bagshaw would put the game on ice as they were able to hold the visitors scoreless in the final few frames. The Knights pulled out a big win at home and they will look forward to a much-needed day off tomorrow as they head towards the All-Star break.
