Nashua's T.J. Liponis looks for the out call at second from umpire Bob Bland after Norwich runner Alan Porter III tried to steal second in the first inning of Wednesday night's FCBL game at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Sometimes when you lose, you just have to give credit where credit is due.

And that’s what the Nashua Silver Knights did on Wednesday night when Norwich Sea Unicorns reliever Gavin Hawkes stymied them during a five-inning stint en route to a 5-3 visitors win before a fairly small, subdued Holman Stadium crowd of 572.

“He shut us down,” Silver Knights manager Kyle Jackson said, his team falling to 12-15 with just six hits a night after pounding out 16. “I mean he gave up two runs but for the most part he kept us off balance.”

Hawkes, a righty out of Rider University, allowed two runs on four hits – two of them bad hops past the corner infielders – walked just one while fanning four and lowering his ERA to 2.18. Not bad after he struggled as a sophomore in 15 appearance in the spring for Rider, all in relief to the tune of a 6.87 ERA.

“He was just keeping us off his heater,” Silver Knights left fielder Aidin Zorn said. “He was throwing a lot of off speed, at least to me he was, keeping us off balance, that’s the biggest thing.

“We’ve just got to work on staying back, trusting our hands, because we’ve got good bats. We’ve just got to trust our bats, and it will come.”

Hawkes relieved Sea Unicorns starter Timothy Lewis to start the fourth. Lewis gave up a homer over the right field wall to Nashua’s Owen Carey in the first, Carey’s second homer in as many days that gave Nashua a 1-0 lead.

Nashua lefty starter Cam Keaveney out of Exeter, headed to Northeastern, pitched well for four innings before he loaded the bases in the fourth on a hit, the first of two errors in the frame by shortstop T.J. Liponis, and a walk. He got a double play as Norwich tied it at 1, and the Knights were hoping to escape further damage and brought in righty long reliever Tom Rioux. But another Liponis error led to two hits and two more Sea Unicorn runs to make it 3-1. The Knights should have been out of the inning.

Liponis made up for one of his miscues with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-2, but with two on and two out Hawkes got Owen Carey to pop out.

Each time Nashua closed to within one, Norwich would answer. They made it 4-2 in the sixth after Rioux issued a walk and then two straight hits, the second an RBI single by Christian Stratis.

“He wasn’t living low,” Jackson said. “It was just one of those nights with him. When they threw down, he got outs. When he left it up, he got hit. He threw well, I’m not worried. … Can’t win it all. They’re playing hard.”

Nashua cut it to 4-3 off a tiring Hawkes in the eighth on pinch-hitter Will Fosberg’s double past first and Nate Kearney’s RBI single. But Zorn popped out to end the threat. In the ninth Nashua reliever Ben Dean served up a solo blast over the boards in left to the Sea Unicorns’ Peter Link and that was that.

“It’s just one of those deals where they’re all playing hard,” Jackson said. “They’re always going to battle. It’s a tough loss, but they’ll be fine.”

CIVITELLA ON MOUND TONIGHT

Nashua makes its fourth and final visit of the regular season to New Britain tonight and will send righty Vinny Civitella (0-2, 5.40) to the mound. The Bees were off on Wednesday. Jason Libby (0-1, 4.82) will go Friday at Holman as the team will host a two-game set vs. Vermont, with the Lake Monsters staying in town for a Saturday 6 p.m. game as well…

Jackson said River Hart, hit by a pitch around his elbow on Sunday, will be out just about a week and by then should be ready to go. “That’s the plan,” he said…

Despite his two errors, Liponis made a spectacular play up the middle in the ninth, robbing Stratis of a base hit…

Don’t look now, but there’s a Hot Dog Eating Contest set for Friday at Holman. Check with the Knights for details.