All the good folks at the New England Sports Network (NESN to most of you) need to do to promote their Futures Collegiate Baseball League telecasts is show the final moments of Saturday’s Nashua Silver Knights 5-4 walk-off win over the Pittsfield Suns, team celebration after Shane McNamara’s game-winning hit especially.

And participating teams in future telecast should send potential sponsors a few clips of the drama-filled contest. According to FCBL commissioner Joe Paolucci, the teams can sell their own advertising spots to the telecasts to recoup some of the on-air costs.

And, perhaps the Knights and Suns should bill home plate umpire Rick Emerson for some of his air time. Emerson was borderline ridiculous, constantly stopping the game for reasons that just seemed minor, one such pause that infuriated Knights manager Kyle Jackson. It didn’t help the chatterbox home plate ump’s cause when he blew a close play at home that cost the Knights a run in a bizarre sixth. A game that should have been over a half hour earlier simply dragged on thanks in part to him.

And Jackson was as angry as anyone has likely seen him after that call – and the region on their TVs got to see it too. And with the Commish in town, he quickly got the Fourth of July off in a one-game suspension. Oh, the drama.

“He (Suns catcher Drew Paris) never touched (Knights runner Ray Velazquez,” Jackson said of a play that was a force originally but became a tag play thanks to a wild throw. “Before that he was worrying about our bench cheering our team. I was ‘Why are you worried about the bench? Worry about the game. It makes no sense. … You’re worried about other stuff that has no effect on the game.”

Whatever. Despite Emerson, the FCBL did itself proud with this first of four NESN games of the summer – you knew it was big when Paolucci makes the trip to Holman from his home in the Brockton-Weymouth area.

Nashua Silver Knights starter Jonah Wachter delivers a pitch in the second inning of Saturday’s NESN televised game vs. Pittsfield at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The league, Paolucci recalled, got the NESN deal when the network needed content in 2020 with no Red Sox games until early August to televise. Brockton GM Tom Tracey had a connection with the statin and put Paolucci in contact with them, and the games were on.

“We were kind of the only show in town, so we grabbed it,” Paolucci said. “Now that they do have content and especially with the Worcester Red Sox now,we were kind of their for them during the COVID year and I think that’s why they’re helping us out by continuing the relationship.”

Paolucci said the ratings have been “decent” and that NESN was impresssed.

“I think they like the product we put out and they like the facilities,” Paolucci said.

Paolucci wants to get all the teams involved; Vermont, which has become the league’s premier franchise in just its second year, couldn’t get worked into the schedule to showcase Centennial Field due to schedule restrictions and its lease with the University of Vermont that severely limits the number of day games.

Nashua will be on again on Saturday July 23 at Brockton, which has gotten tons of publicity for having the sons of Red Sox greats David Ortiz, Keith Foulke, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and also former Yankee (and several other teams) slugger Gary Sheffield.

The Silver Knights haven’t faired too well in these Holman NESN games, losing to North Shore (now in the NECBL) during Nashua’s championship run in 2020 and bowing last July to Brockton.

But not yesterday.

“There’s no better way for us to get our product out to more people in New England to see it,” Paolucci said. “It’s been great for the league overall.”

And Saturday’s game just made it even better, despite the plate umpire whose name probably belonged in the credits.

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