Cam Cook was in downtown Nashua one night a few weeks ago when he bumped into an old Nichols College teammate, big burly first baseman Kyle Bouchard.

Bouchard was in town to watch another Nichols kid, Jack Dicsenso, pitch for the Nashua Silver Knights.

And he gave Cook, the Knights general manager, a little idea.

“He said, ‘Hey, if you’re looking for anybody late, I can kind of maneuver some things for work and hopefully (play),'” Cook said. “It worked out great.”

It sure did. It turned out the Knights needed a big bat in the lineup after leading homer and RBI man Dom Keegan had to return to Vanderbilt early.

Before you could say MVP, Cook signed his former mate, and in doing so signed up for a championship. Bouchard won the FCBL Finals Most Valuable Player award after driving in five runs in three games, including a key insurance run in the Silver Knights’ 5-3 Game 3 championship win over Worcester Saturday night at Holman Stadium.

How ironic. A week ago Saturday, Bouchard brought fans to their feet at Holman when he hit a ball to the deepest part of the park in center, just missing a game tying home run vs. North Shore in the bottom of the ninth.

The next day, with Nashua needing a win over Brockton at Campanelli Stadium to clinch a playoff spot – a loss would have had them on the outside looking in – he smacked a two run homer to right to give the Knights a 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

In Thursday’s Game 1 loss, he tied the game at 2 in the seventh. Friday, he singled in two runs as part of Nashua’s decisive five run first that evened the series 1-1. Last night he hit a sac fly in the ninth that gave the Knights a 5-2 cushion.

“I just got the opportunity to come out here and play,” Bouchard said. “I thank Cam. I was coming in, swinging, doing anything I can. … I just wanted to come in and help the Silver Knights.”

Knights manager Kyle Jackson loves him, raving all this week about his at-bats and energy. As someone said, he looks like a beer league softball player, but ohhh that bat speed. Bouchard isn’t buying, for sure.

His coach at Nichols, where he’ll be a grad student with that extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic-related cancelled spring, gave his approval. After all, last summer the kid didn’t play, serving an internship at Brockton as the clubbie – yes, you’re reading that right – and taking batting practice when he could.

But the Rox didn’t have room for him.

“I just had to get my intership credits,” he said. “They were great guys, great management over there.”

Bouchard actually was no stranger to the FCBL and Nashua. He had constantly battered the Knights with his swing a couple of years ago playing for Martha’s Vineyard.

“He walks off the streets,” Cook said, ready to hit.”

Right now, the streets of Nashua are his streets. He owns them. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll see a Kyle Bouchard Way.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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