Nashua's Ernie Little loses his helmet after stealing third during Wednesday's Silver Knights season opener at HolmanStadium Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The Nashua Silver Knights got almost everything they wanted on Opening Day Wednesday: Beautiful weather, great crowd, exciting game.

Everything, that is, except a win.

That’s because they found out how area high school baseball teams felt when they had to deal with then Pinkerton standout Jackson Marshall. Or teams facing SNHU during Marshall’s freshman year this spring.

Marshall’s high, booming three-run shot off Silver Knights reliever xxxxx Roth ended up being the difference in a 9-7 Worcester Bravehearts win in front of an Education/Opening Day kid-filled Holman Stadium crowd of 2,606.

Marshall wasn’t the only reason for the Knights tough loss, one that saw them have a chance to either tie or win it in the bottom of the ninth until Cole Patterson flew out to left with the bases loaded. Nashua committed five errors, three by shortstop Anthony Grabau, and two in that six-run Worcester eighth, and seven of Worcester’s runs were unearned. Yes, seven.

“The biggest thing they all competed,” Nashua manager Nick Guarino said. “After that six-spot we could’ve said the game’s over but we came back and scored three, and in the ninth got the guys on base.”

It was a sloppy game, but an entertaining one. Nashua had jumped out to a 3-1 lead but the Bravehearts tied it up in the fifth on an RBI single by Hank Peters after Grabau’s first error.

However, Grabau gave Nashua a 4-3 lead with a two-out RBI hit in the bottom of the seventh, his second hit and second RBI of the game.

Unfortunately he lost his hero status with his miscues (throws) in the eighth. And it didn’t help that Nashua relievers (Mike Crowley, who took the loss, and Roth) walked three in the inning. But good defense, and Marshall wouldn’t have had his opportunity, which came after Worcester had already plated three for a 6-4 lead.

“That’s a guy (Grabau) who comes from a really good program, so he’s going to figure it out,” Guarino said. “He’s obviously being really hard on himself right now. But they won. It came down to defense, even balls they marked as hits could’ve gone either way. Like the guys said in the huddle, they didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves today.”

Roth, who will be a sophomore at Clark, came in and got ahead of Marshall 0-2 and then boom.

“We talked about it with the pitchers, we kind of knew how to attack him just by watching the film last night,” Guarino said. “And we did a pretty good job early in the game doing that.

“Roth comes in, gets ahead 0-2, he tried to elevate the fastball, we were good all game getting him above the hands, above the letters. … And Roth left it middle. He stuck to what his plan was, he just made a bad pitch.”

Nashua starter Tommy Flaherty delivers a pitch in the first inning of the Silver Knights’ season opener at Holman Stadium on Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

There was a bright side.With Fordham’s Ernie Little and Tommy Ahlers atop the lineup, the Knights will run and drive opposing batteries crazy. The pair got on base a combined five times and stole three bases. Little had an RBI hit in the three-run bottom of the eighth that started with a triple by Will Burns. Patrick Shrake singled him in, and later Ahlers had a sac fly.

Also, starter Tommy Flaherty was solid, giving up one earned run (two total) over four while striking out six.

Now it’s off to Worcester and they may already be underway as you read this with another Education Day Game at 10:30.

” We have five 10:30 games in our first eight,” Guarino said. “So we’re going to do it a few times.”

While hoping for different results.