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Bedford’s Mosseau gets Knights Opening Night nod

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Jul 1, 2020

Telegraph photo by TOM KING Bedford's Geoff Mosseau gets the nod to start Thursday night's Nashua Silver Knights season opener at Holman Stadium.

NASHUA – Two years ago, Geoff Mosseau was starting to feel a twinge in his elbow on the mound at Holman Stadium, one that many pitchers experience.

The 6-foot-6, 195 pound lefty had just graduated from Bedford High School, and suddenly found himself in the Nashua Silver Knights rotation to get him prepared for a career at St. John’s University in New York.

“I didn’t really think it was anything major,” he said. “Then I was making a start (that July) against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. I was making a pitch and I just felt everything go.”

Of course, the dreaded Tommy John surgery was next. Mosseau will now come full circle, returning to the Holman mound on Thursday night as the Silver Knights 2020 Opening Night starting pitcher. Their 10th season kicks off tomorrow at 6 p.m. vs. the North Shore Navigators.

“The program he comes from is very good,” Silver Knights manager Kyle Jackson said. “He has control of all of his pitches,he’s been throwing three or four of his pitches. It’s an opportunity for not putting a lot of pressure on the bullpen on Opening Day.

“And he’s been here. He’s done it. He’s a veteran of the league.”

Plus, Jackson said, North Shore is a predominantly lefty-hitting team.

But two years ago, elbow pressure did him in. A couple of MRIs told the story, and he had the surgery in August of 2018, and didn’t pitch at all for the spring and summer of 2019. He did, however, go 1-0, 5.25 for St. John’s in relief during the recent spring season cut short by COVID-19.

He also pitched in the more informal fall season, with appearances vs. Manhattan College and the University of Maryland. It was like a breath of fresh air.

“Nothing really compares to pitching in a real game (during spring),” he said. “In February down in Georgia, I came in to a game vs. Georgia State and my heart was racing the fastest it ever has.

“It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun paying off. It was amazing to be back, and not have any arm pain when I was throwing.”

Mosseau went five innings in long relief, giving up just three hits with four strikeouts.

Was it like riding a bike?

“I was really prepared for that,” he said. “But when coach (St. John’s pitching coach George Brown) told me to get hot quick, that’s when it really hit me.

I was actually going to go into a game. But as soon as I got on the mound, it was strictly me competing. It all felt normal again.”

Mosseau came from a great high school program, and feels lucky to be back in Nashua.

“I never thought I’d be able to play a game in New Hampshire again,” he said. “But as soon as I had the opportunity to come here, I had such a great experience my first time here, it came as a no-brainer that I wanted to come back.

“It’s just going to be awesome to have my family and friends at the games. Going to school in New York, you really don’t have many people you know at the games, unless my parents made the trip. It’s just going to be awesome to throw close to home. And have some of my friends growing up, Joe Quintal and Pat Harrington (as Silver Knight teammates).”

“He knows how to control being a local kid, too,” Jackson said. “That’s going to help him have the ability to not put a lot of pressure on himself.”

He’ll transition back as a starter, but he did start some games last fall and pitched in long relief for St. John’s, “so it really won’t be too much of a difference. It’s going to be awesome to get back out starting again, I think that’s where I work best. It’s going to be a lot of fun to get back into a routine and just be a starter again.”

Mosseau had to learn the art of patience through his Tommy John experience.

“The Tommy John experience for me was tough,” he said. “I had a bunch of setbacks, some really good days, some really bad days. Thankfully I go to a great school where the support staff is unlike any other. I had some great teammates that had the surgery before. I worked with a great physical therapy staff that supported me through everything. I don’t think I would’ve come back as strong as I did without them.”

Mentally, he worked with Red Storm pitching coach George Brown to stay sharp without that competitive situation.

“Instead of competition, I’d just compete against myself every day,” Mosseau said. “Just dominate any day of rehab that I had. But being taken away from the competition was tough at first.”

During the time after the college season had shut down, Mosseau had been working out with some of his former Bulldog teammates, including Rockies minor leaguer Grant Lavigne.

But nothing replaces playing for a team.

“It’s really exciting,” Mosseau said. “I can’t wait to come back, be healthy, pitch a full season and help this (Knights) team win a ring.”

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The Knights’ scheduled scrimmage with the Worcester Bravehearts Tuesday was called off due to a wet morning forecast, so the team just had an inter-squad scrimmage with about seven pitchers getting work and every hitter getting an at-bat or two…

Jackson has named another Bedford High alum, righty Joe Quintal (Fordham) as the starter for Friday’s 6 p.m. game at Holman vs. Brockton.

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