Telegraph photo by TOM KING Griffin Young has been named the Game 1 starter for the Nashua Silver Knights in the FCBL Finals vs. Worcester that begin on Thursday at Holman Stadium.

NASHUA – He was lights out coming out of the bullpen, and he has been solid as a starting pitcher.

Thus it was no surprise that Nashua Silver Knights manager Kyle Jackson has named Wheaton College righty Griffin Young as his team’s starting pitcher for Game 1 of the Futures Collegiate League Finals vs. Worcester Thursday night at 7 at Holman Stadium.

Lefty Nick Guarino, who pitched the playoff clincher this past Sunday, will go in Game 2 on Friday at 6 p.m. at Holman and, if necessary, Pat Harrington in a deciding Game 3 Saturday at 6. Nashua will be the home team only for Game 2 as Worcester clinched the No. 1 seed with a 7-3 win over Brockton on Tuesday night.

“Guarino has not pitched against Worcester and I don’t think Young has (as a starter), but he might have made one appearance,” Jackson said before Tuesday night’s 13-9 slugfest win over North Shore before a lively crowd of 655 at Holman Stadium. “But they’ve been throwing the crap out of the ball. Right now in the league I think they are the top two in my eyes.

“I think they’re going to give us the best chance. They throw strikes and they don’t give any free passes. I think they give us the best opportunity. I told the team that (on Tuesday) and they’re super excited. They know what they’re going to get with those guys going out.”

Young definitely is. He was 3-2, 1.75 during the regular season, allowing 19 hits in 25.2 innings, striking out 30 while walking 10.

“I’m just excited,” Young said. “I was excited for the playoffs no matter what. It’s nice to know the team and the coaches put their trust in me. I just want to deliver a win. That’s why we’re here, right?”

It wasn’t as big an adjustment for Young to move from the bullpen to the rotation, since he is a starter at Wheaton.

“I relieved here last year, by trade at school I’m a starter,” he said. “I’m kind of used to flip-flopping, do whatever’s asked of me. I don’t really care what position I’m in as long as we compete and win.”

Why have things worked so well for Young this season?

“I think it’s been the coaching from school and here, just fine tuning everything I’ve had,” he said. “The coaches don’t ever change anything, they just tweak it and tell you how you can, like little tips to make everything better. That and having command is the key to what I’ve been doing.”

Young says he expects a great atmosphere Thursday.

“Especially against Worcester,” he said. “Same ownership (the Creedon family) and it’s like a mini-rivalry. It just brings new energy.”

And Young hopes to tap into some of that energy on Thursday.

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Nashua season ticket holders, if they haven’t gotten their Finals tickets, can get them at the team office Wednesday or Will Call on Thursday. Tickets for the general fan base can be ordered on line at http://gr1.glitnirticketing.com/grticket/web/ev_list.php or by calling the team offices.

Silver Knights general manager Cam Cook said the crowd will likely be kept at 25 percent capacity but the team will check with the city to see if it can tweak that. That would be 750 in the seating bowl, but they can add another 100 fans or so in the area down the left field line and picnic area. Worcester season ticket holders are being asked to RSVP so both teams can plan on the crowd number.

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Tuesday night’s game was a crazy affair, and Nashua (22-16) scored runs in bunches for the second straight game. They got four each in two innings on Sunday, and last night scored six in the third and then a whopping seven in the eighth, which the Knights entered trailing 7-6.

The game featured 30 combined hits, including 16 for Nashua. The two biggest ones were a three-run homer by Kyle Bouchard that tied the game at 4 in the third, and another three-run shot by the previously struggling Jared Dupere, ironically pinch-hitting in the eighth for Bouchard.

Nate Cormier went 3 for 4 with two RBIs while Ben rounds went 2 for 4 with a pair of ribbies. John Mead had two hits and scored twice as Jackson used a mix of regulars and role players throughout. Josh Roberge, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning of relief, got the win (1-1). Harrington, in a brief one inning tuneup for his potential Saturday start, struck out the side in the seventh.

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Jackson, in his first season since taking over for the retired B.J. Neverett, was named the FCBL’s Manger of the Year.

The Silver Knights did not win any of the FCBL’s player performance awards, but Roberge prior to last night’s game was the team’s winner of the leaguewide Adam Keenan Scholarship Award (a player from each team wins it) for his work in helping to run the Silver Knights baseball camps. “The way he ran camp this year, for three weeks, he was there every day with the kids,” Jackson said.

Keenan was the player for the former Seacoast Mavericks who passed away due to a heart ailment just prior to the start of the FCBL’s inaugural season in 2011.

Worcester catcher Ben Rice and his 11 homers and .681 slugging percentage earned him FCBL Player of the Year. The Pitcher of the Year award went to Brockton ace Nick Sinacola (UMaine), who held opponents to a .155 batting average against. North Shore’s Sal Frelick was named Top Pro Prospect and outfielder Ben Malgieri won Defensive Player of the Year, both receiving their awards prior to last night’s game as well. The Relief Pitcher of the Year went to Brockton’s Joe Walsh.

Top Pitching Prospects were Westfield’s Reggie Crawford and New Britain’s Ben Casparius, while Worcester’s Mario Ricciardi – son of former Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi – won the Commissioner’s Award. He’s missed much of the season with a bad hamstring but there was recent talk he could return for the Finals.