Knights

Photo: Kailey Lane/Nashua Silver Knights

Rain in the forecast threw a wrench in the Silver Knights Thursday plans with their date against Pittsfield being postponed. With a doubleheader now set with Pittsfield down the line, Nashua now had to shift their eyes for a home matchup against Vermont. A starting matchup involving two big talents was slated, with Tulane’s Jonah Wachter going for Nashua and Wake Forest’s Crawford Wade starting for Vermont. In a back-and-forth battle between both pitching staffs, the Lake Monsters got the final laugh and took the game 5-1.

Showing shades of the last time the Knights took the diamond in Holman, an early solo shot by Boston College’s Kyle Wolff bolted the Silver Knights out to a 1-0 lead. With Wade giving the rest of the Nashua lineup fits, the red and black caught a break with Wolff’s third home run of the season.

In arguably his best outing of the season, Jonah Wachter dominated on the bump for the Knights. In seven innings pitched, Wachter struck out seven on only two hits. Wachter’s seven innings of shutout ball earned Jonah his third quality start of the 2022 campaign.

Having trouble following the one run blast, Nashua looked to manufacture some insurance runs. After Wade left the ballgame following five well pitched innings, Silver Knight opportunities began to rise. A two out triple from Northeastern’s Carmelo Musacchia in the sixth put another Nashua run just 90 feet away, but the Knights could not capitalize. In the eighth, Nashua found themselves with two runners on but once again did not cash in. Heading into the ninth, Silver Knight fans were looking for a quick three outs to take the W and enjoy some fireworks.

While Nashua looked for a smooth ninth, Vermont didn’t hear “no bell”. Wake Forest’s Tommy Hawke poked a single into left to lead off the inning. Showing off his lead off speed, Hawke caught the Knights sleeping and stole second. Playing aggressive, Hawke stole third and a controversial call by the umpires gave Hawke his second stolen base of the inning. In a blink of an eye, Vermont had a man on third with no outs.

Right after Hawke took third, Crowder’s Tyler Favretto wasted no time bringing him in and tied the game up on an RBI single. After a walk and a fielder's choice, Virginia’s Harrison Didawick opened the game wide open with a triple to center to bring home two. After being three outs away from a victory, things went from good to bad to worse for the good guys.

Now down 3-1, the Knights were looking to stop the bleeding and get to the bottom of the ninth to try and storm back. Looking to keep the line moving for Vermont, Tuft’s Connor Bowman put the nail in the coffin with a two-run moonshot to make it 5-1. As the ball left the bat, so did the hopes of the Nashua faithful as the Knights now had a big mountain to climb.

Nashua would go 1-2-3 quietly in the bottom of the ninth, giving Vermont the 5-1 victory. Starting off their weekend with a sour taste in their mouth, another huge performance by Jonah Wachter was scraped with the Knights losing now two in a row. Nashua’s pitching staff might have crumbled at the end, but another one run performance from the offense put more weight on their shoulders.

Looking to bounce back and make the most of the weekend homestand, Nashua will look to avoid a three-game losing streak as they welcome in the Westfield Starfires at 6:00 PM Saturday. Vermont, now sitting at 21-5 and in first place, will head back up to Burlington, VT with their five-game winning streak to take on New Britain. First pitch between the Lake Monsters and the Bees will be at 6:05 PM.