Brock Pare will try to keep; the Nashua Silver Knights season alive tonight when he starts Game 2 of the FCBL Finals vs. Vermont at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Ouch.

The Nashua Silver Knights knew they’d be having to use patchwork pitching in Wednesday night’s Game 1 of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League Finals.

But those patches didn’t hold as the Knights sprung a big leak in all phases of the game in a 12-0 loss to the Vermont Lake Monsters at the University of Vermont’s Centennial Field.

Now the Knights will have to regroup for tonight’s Game 2 in the best-of-three series at 6 at Holman Stadium to try to return to Burlington for a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday. Not to mention avoid the sting of having the Lake Monsters celebrate a title at Holman.

“That’s why it’s a best out of three, you come back tomorrow and get after it,” Nashua manager Kyle Jackson, who named righty Brock Pare as his starting pitcher for tonight, said. “You’re back home, comfort zone, it’s just that today is one of those game when nothing went well – pitching, offense, defense. You just erase it.”

Vermont pounded out 16 hits off six Nashua pitchers and was in control the entire time. Nashua also committed a whopping five errors, but only three of Vermont’s runs were unearned.

Connor Bowman led the Vermont offense, going 3 for 3 with five RBIs and two runs scored. He got things going with a two-out double into the left center field gap off Nashua starter George Welch – normally the Knights closer — to plate two in the bottom of the second for a 2-0 lead.

Vermont broke things open in the bottom of the fourth. Harrison Didawick doubled home a run, and Cooper Kelly drove in two as the Lake Monsters scored five in the frame to lead 7-0. It grew to 8-0 thanks to an error, Bowman drove in two more in the seventh to make it 10-0. The mercy rule the league used (10 runs lead after seven) is not being used in the playoffs.

Nashua made some noise early, and had some opportunities, but left nine men on. They had first and third with one out in the second and came up empty; first and second nobody out in the fourth, same thing. Kyle Wolff went 3 for 4 while Shane McNamara was 2 for 3, both with doubles. Brady O’Brien also had a double. Yet Vermont starter Max Moore was an early escape artist and then coasted, as he allowed six hits over seven innings, walking two but striking out seven.

“We didn’t execute,” Jackson said. “We didn’t get the ball on the ground or the key hit we needed with two outs.”

Pare had two no decisions vs. Vermont this summer, with a 4.26 ERA – but the Monsters hit just .174 vs. him.

And Jackson feels he and the Knights will be back at Centennial Field on Friday for a winner-take-all.

“I’m going to say these guys are going to bounce back,” he said. “They’re not ready to quit, they’re not ready to lose (tonight).”

(FCBL media relations staffer Josh Kummins contributed to this report.)

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