There was a school of thought among some before the Future Collegiate Baseball League semifinal playoff matchups were set that perhaps the Nashua Silver Knights would be better off playing top seed Vermont than New Britain.

Joke’s on them. Be careful what you wish for. Use any cliché.

Nashua ended up taking care of the Bees in a semi sweep. And the Knights were no match for the Lake Monsters in Wednesday night’s 12-0 Game 1 of the FCBL Finals.

But you had to expect this. The Silver Knights starting pitching tank is dangerously close to ‘E’, and manager Kyle Jackson opted to go with a bullpen game, starting his lefty fireballing closer, George Welch. Welch gave up two runs on a Connor Bowman double in the second, but that was it. But the parade that followed Welch helped things get out of hand. It had to be a long bus ride back home down I-89 with Game 2 set for tonight at Holman Stadium.

But Jackson is counting on it being a fun ride back up 89 on Friday to play a Game 3 at Centennial field.

“Yeah,” he said last night. “We have confidence here. We had opportunities to try to get ahead, just didn’t happen. The boys are ready to go back home, it’s been a long season, but they’re not ready to quit.”

And he almost all but guaranteed a Game 3 – which you would expect.

“I’m going to say these guys are going to bounce back,” he said. “They’re not ready to quit, they’re not ready to lose (tonight).”

After all, Jackson knows his team better than anyone, but he also knows the feeling of being down 1-0 in a championship series. His first year as manager, remember?

It was just two years ago with all three games of the FCBL Finals being played at Holman Stadium because Worcester wasn’t able to use its home park at Holy Cross due to COVID restrictions. The Knights lost Game 1 but came back to win Games 2 and 3 for the title.

It all depends on the pitching. Basically Nashua had three starters left after injuries and other variables gutted the rotation: Aiven Cabral, Nolan Lincoln, and Brock Pare. Cabral and Lincoln dominated, now they have to hope Pare can keep things alive tonight. Jackson hoped for the best with his bullpen game last night, while Vermont went with starter Max Moore, a 6-4, 225-pound junior from Mount St. Mary. It was only his second appearance, both starts, with the Monsters, so you have to figure they’re running low, too. It’s that time of year.

Former Nashua Pride owner Chris English will likely return to town tonight, and it would be an interesting twist to see him hoist the trophy at Holman. While he was the principle owner, the Pride won their only Atlantic League title on the road in Bridgewater, N.J.in 2000. In 2003 and 2005, Nashua fans had to grin and bear the sight of the Somerset Patriots celebrating championships in the Holman infield after 3-0 sweeps.

Nearly 20 years later on the same field, the Silver Knights don’t want their own fans to have to see the same thing.

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