Nate Kearney had two big hits but it wasn't enough for the Silver Knights in a crucial loss to Brockton on Sunday. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

It was going to an interesting conclusion to what has been a blockbuster of a season series on Sunday afternoon, as the Silver Knights and Rox got ready to face off for the final time in 2024. Nashua took Friday’s meeting and Brockton responded with a win on Saturday, setting up the deciding finale to end the weekend.

After two straight games where one team pulled away early, the two ball clubs duked it out for the full nine rounds. There were nine lead changes/ties in the game, with the Silver Knights ninth-inning rally down two runs coming up short in a 7-6 loss.

Believe it or not, despite these two straight losses to the Rox, Nashua still has a mathematical, while unlikely, chance at the playoffs. Basically, going by winning percentage, the Silver Knights (24-29) need to win their final five games and finish at .500. Then hope that two of these three teams, Vermont (28-22), Worcester (23-26) and New Britain (27-21) have really bad final weeks and finish below .500. Vermont has eight games left, including the final two vs. Nashua at Centennial Field next weekend. New Britain has seven, including one at Holman Stadium on Friday night, Nashua’s home finale. Worcester has eight remaining, but none against Nashua.

Nashua was hoping for better results on the mound this time around, with Saint Anselm’s Andrew Chenevert making another Sunday start. Brockton, however, kept up their early-game offense with three runs in the first three innings. Nashua followed the pace to match the Rox’s tally, including a two-run third from a two-RBI double from Northeastern’s Will Fosberg to make it 3-3.

Both teams have scored in many different ways throughout the weekend but for Brockton, Sunday was all about the long ball. Three homers, including two from Bentley’s Brendan Sencaj, were the difference makers in Nashua’s loss with three of the four Silver Knight pitchers each giving up two earned runs or more.

Despite the Rox clinic, the Silver Knights did not fade at the plate. Brockton doubled Nashua’s hit total for most of the game, but clutch RBI knocks from Stonehill’s Nate Kearney and Minnesota’s Jake Elbeery. After seven, it was 5-5.

Hopes were high until Sencaj cashed in on his second homer in a monster of a game, pulling the Rox ahead 7-5 in the eighth. With one inning to go on Princess Day at the ballpark, the clock was about to strike midnight on Nashua’s chance for a victory.

Energy escaped the ballpark in the ninth until Will Fosberg sparked a match with his third hit of the day and a double to potentially start a rally. Kearney singled Fosberg to third, later coming around to score on a passed ball that also moved the tying run into scoring position. But with hopes back and rising, Northeastern’s AJ Aschettino struck out in a lengthy at-bat to give the Rox the close victory.

Now on a two-game skid, the Silver Knights will have some time off ahead of the final week of the regular season. On Wednesday, the Knights will be back at Holman for a 6:00 PM first pitch against the Westfield Starfires.

(Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King contributed to this report).