Bedford's Pat Harrington, a former Silver Knight, got the win in the Vermont Lake Monsters' 3-2 championship victory over Pittsfield on Friday night. (FCBL courtesy photo)

The Vermont Lake Monsters are the 2021 Futures Collegiate League champions, and there’s a Nashua flavor to that 3-2 victory in the finals deciding Game 3 win Friday night over the Pittsfield Suns before 2,618 at Burlington’s Centennial Field.

First, former Nashua Pride professional independent league team owner Chris English is the head of a group that owns the Monsters.

Second, former Nashua Silver Knight ace Pat Harrington of Bedford and Assumption College was the winning pitcher, tossing five scoreless innings. Harrington, who pitched for Nashua back in 2019 and was this year’s FCBL Pitcher of the Year, allowed just three hits while fanning six. Harrington tossed 68 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Vermont’s Jimmy Evans (Tufts) ripped a single up the middle to plate two to give Vermont a 2-0 led in the bottom of the fifth. The Monsters made it a 3-0 game in the same inning on an RBI single by Colby Brouillette.

Pittsfield, however, wasn’t going to go down without a fight, scoring two in the ninth and making it very interesting. Joe Lara doubled and Jack Cooney drove him in with a single to make it 3-1, then later Cooney scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Cabot Maher after Jake Blinstrub advanced him to third.

All that came off reliever Billy Oldham. Enter Will Hesslink, who plunked Jack Thorbhan to put runners at first and second with one out. However, the third Vermont pitcher of the inning, Chris Clark, struck out Suns Mike Gervasi and Nate Cormier to end it.

Evans was named the Finals MVP, going 4 for 11 with a triple, two walks, two runs scored and five RBIs.

Vermont was an FCBL expansion team, as English, who won an Atlantic League championship in 2000 as the Pride’s owner, bought the former New York Penn League franchise — the NYPL was disbanded by Major League Baseball — back in January. The Lake Monsters won a league record 40 regular season games this summer, and captured four of five playoff games.