Nashua's Kyle Wolff reached base five times in the Silver Knights' 8-7 win over Vermont on Friday night. (File photo courtesy of Nashua Silver Knights)

Coming off their first win against Vermont in 2022, the Silver Knights entered July on Friday on a three-game winning streak with a chance to do something no other team has done this season: beat the first place Lake Monsters in back-to-back games.

Mission accomplished.

In an offensive war, Nashua, down 4-0 and 7-4, pulled out a gusty win to sweep Vermont in the two-game road trip 8-7, sweeping the two-game series at Burlington’s Centennial Field. Four runs in the fifth and another in the sixth did the trick for the local FCBL entry, which has now won four straight.

In similar fashion to Thursday’s ballgame, the Lake Monsters once again struck first. Brown’s Ryan Marra helped his teammate by giving starting pitcher Toby McDonough (Brown) a lead to work with. After Vermont walked their way aboard and stole second ahead of Marra’s at bat, Marra would single to right field to bring the runner around. After one, Vermont had an early 1-0 lead.

Vermont wasn’t done after the first, adding two more runs in the second. Nashua starter Pare had some struggles early, walking two Vermont batters with only one out. After the runners moved up on a passed ball, a groundout by Princeton’s Jordan Kelly was still enough to bring another run home. After the RBI groundout, Kansas’s Cooper Kelly doubled to bring in the second Vermont runner. With the “Kelly Connection” in full effect with RBIs from Jordan and Cooper, Vermont now had a 3-0 advantage after two.

Coastal Carolina’s Liam Doyle came in after Pare’s two inning outing, and struggled in his first relief appearance. Wake Forest’s Tommy Hawke led off the inning with a double, with another Vermont runner in scoring position threatening to make it 4-0. Back-to-back groundouts moved Hawke to third and eventually to home, stretching the Vermont lead to four after three innings. If Nashua wanted to keep this win streak alive, it would need to respond quickly.

And the Silver Knights, now 14-17, did just that.

In the fifth inning, it all started to click. With one out in the inning, UMass’s Will MacLean ignited the Nashua offense with a triple. After a tough stretch for the Exeter native, MacLean is slowly starting to come back alive with a .280 AVG in his last three games. Following Will, Northeastern’s Greg Bozzo singled to left to bring home Nashua’s first run of the day.

Colby’s Pat McConnell moved Bozzo up to second with a single of his own, setting up runners on first and second with still only one out. A quick second out for the Knights put the pressure on Niagara’s Brady Desjardins to deliver. Just like an ATM Machine, Nashua kept delivering singles with Desjardins’s hit to keep the inning alive. An outfield error moved the runners up once more with Bozzo scoring from third. Now with runners on second and third, Nashua’s hottest hitter in Boston College’s Kyle Wolff was now due up.

Wolff (3 for 3, two RBIs, two runs, reached base five times) didn’t sleep off his hot bat, carrying his clutch hitting into Friday with a two RBI double to score Desjardins and McConnell. Wolff would end up getting out on the base paths, but not before delivering the tying blow. After the top of the fifth, Nashua was back in it with the score all square at four.

After Nashua finally responded to Vermont’s offensive onslaught, the Lake Monsters didn’t let up. A single and a walk once again set up another prime opportunity for Vermont, with the runners once again moving up.

A fielder’s choice from Pepperdine’s Cam Conley got the Monsters the lead back 5-4. Wake Forest’s Gio Cueto ended up scoring Conley on an RBI double, notching his second double of the ballgame. Jordan Kelly would put the cherry on top for Vermont’s fifth inning production with an RBI single to score Cueto and earn his second RBI of the game. After five, Vermont was back out to a solid lead at 7-4.

Similar to Vermont’s big start to the game, the Silver Knight offense did not slow down after their fifth inning outburst. Getting right to business, Eastern Nazarene’s Shane McNamara walked aboard to lead off the sixth. Siena’s Richie Paltridge joined the hit party with a double following McNamara, setting up second and third with no outs for the Knights. With a big chance to make up some runs, St. Thomas Aquinas Andrew Jemison came through with an RBI single to left field. Nashua was now down 7-5.

Following his triple earlier in the ballgame, MacLean delivered a productive at bat, bringing home Paltridge on a 4-3 groundout. Pat McConnel later slashed a two-out double to bring home Jemison. Securing his seventh RBI of the season, the Knights and Lake Monsters were now tied at 7.

Northeastern’s Carmelo Musacchia came up to the plate, looking to try and drive McConnell in for the potential go ahead run. Musacchia, keeping up his .350 AVG on the season, beat out a grounder to third for an infield single. After another Vermont error, McConnell advanced to third and came home to give Nashua the 8-7 lead. With six innings in the books, the Silver Knights now had their first lead of the night.

In a game that had not been pretty for Nashua’s pitching staff, all eyes were now on the Knights relievers to see if they could protect the one run lead. Plymouth State’s Noah Wachter (winning pitcher), coming off closing out a W against Westfield, filled a needed gap in the middle innings with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Wake Forest’s Will Andrews delivered as well, giving up no hits in 2.1 innings, striking out four.

In the bottom of the ninth, Nashua turned to George Welch after a hit by pitch and a walk put runners on first and second with one out. All Welch did was strike out the next two hitters for the save as the Nashua bullpen has put together four solid games heading into Saturday’s 1 p.m. NESN-televised game at Holman vs. Pittsfield

Newsletter