Nashua infielder Drew Loikits waits to get the throw to force Brockton's Luke Bauer at second during Friday night's FCBL game at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The Brockton Rox pitching staff is the gift that keeps on giving.

Of course, you have to be ready to receive, and the Nashua Silver Knights did just that with a 10-5 win Friday in front of a Holman Stadium Fireworks Night crowd of 2,308.

Brockton, last in the FCBL in walks issued, gave Nashua 11 free passes while plunking two. Down 4-0 early, the Knights managed to tie it up in the middle innings and plated six in the seventh to take control.

“They just kept battling and battling,” Nashua manager Kyle Jackson said, his team now 24-27 but still trailing Vermont, holder of the final playoff spot, by 5.5 games with just seven to play. “Walks and a few errors by them helped.”

That’s the key, taking advantage of it.

“Yeah, we’re getting better at it,” Jackson said. “They are trying their hardest. They know what kind of team they are and they’re trying to give themselves an opportunity.

“They’ve been having good at bats all year. I think the second half they’re getting better with their discipline at the plate.”

Nashua broke a 4-4 tie with six runs in the seventh on four hits,three walks and two hit batsmen. They loaded the bases when Jeff Valdez got plucked and Sean Stephenson and Anthony Ruggiero both walked.

Tommy Ahlers then got a good ol’ Holman bad hop single up the middle, an almost sure double play ball that suddenly bounced high over the bag for a go ahead two-run single. Another hit batsman and walk later, Brady Obrien singled home a run to make it 7-4 although Shane McNamara was cut down at the plate.

No matter as Nashua got a two-run single by Will Fosberg and RBI groundout from Valdez.

“We’ll take every Holman hop we can get,” Jackson said with a chuckle.

It wasn’t always fun for the home team. The Knights left 10 men on in the first four innings while three Nashua first-inning errors gave the Rox four runs. But Nater Wachter’s RBI single got Nashua on the board in the fourth and two Rox throwing errors helped plate three runs in the fifth, Shane McNamara’s RBI single tying the game at 4.

Pitching wise, Jason Libbey, survived the nightmarish first to put zeroes on the board through the next 3.2 frames, as did newcomer from Johnson & Wales, Ben Fosberg – cousin of his catcher – for 2.1 innings, getting the win. Brockton didn’t score again until Luke Bauer’s solo homer to over the boards in left off Knights reliever Nolan Mederos. But that was it.

Nashua has two more at Holman with the 14-33 Rox today and Sunday. It would have been a perfect night had Vermont not beaten Norwich 7-1 to keep its solid hold on that fourth and final postseason spot.

With seven games left – the final two at Vermont – you have to think the Silver Knights have to win out.

“You never know,” Jackson said. “A lot of things can happen. … A lot of things have to happen for them, but if they keep winning, anything can happen.”