The Silver Knights mob Joe Zorc at home plate after his home run gave Nashua a walk-off win in the first game of a doubleheader with Norwich Saturday at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Ahh, the ironies of summer collegiate baseball.

Example: Nashua Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino was hoping for a sweep of the Norwich Sea Unicorns on Saturday at Holman Stadium, especially after Joe Zorc’s homer gave the home team a 2-1 walkoff win in Game 1.

But it didn’t happen, and it might have been partly his fault.

“He taught me everything I know,” Norwich righthander Matt Wootton said of Guarino after he handcuffed Nashua in the nightcap, tossing a two-hit shutout, 4-0, to reduce the Silver Knights’ joy to a split of the seven inning contests in front of 916 fans.

Guarino, you see, is Wootton’s pitching coach at Eastern Connecticut State. And Wootton went 4-2, 2.89 in 12 appearances in the spring, six of them starts, with two saves.

Hey, Guarino had the scouting report, but the Silver Knight hitters could do nothing with it.

“That’s a guy who throws four pitches for strikes, in the zone, goes out and attacks, works super quick, gets guys uncomfortable, has a funky arm slot, makes the at-bats uncomfortable for guys on the right side,” Guarino said. “Guys asked me the scout (scouting report), but there’s not too many holes in his game. … That’s a guy who’s a legit pitcher. We got dominated. I hate to say it, but guys got overpowered in that game. … He’s a legit arm.”

As a result, Nashua goes into today’s 3 p.m. visit from Vermont at Holman with a 14-13 mark. Team Streak is now Team Flip-Flop, win one, lose one, etc.

“Right now we’re just bouncing back and forth,” Guarino said. “We’ll be fine.”

Guarino would have loved it if his team could have kept the momentum of Zorc’s homer going by taking it to the Sea Unicorns (11-16) right away in Game 2. Cole Patterson led off the bottom of the first with a single, but Nashua didn’t have another hit until Pat Shrake’s infield hit in the fifth.

“Sure, we wanted to jump out on them early,” Guarino said. “… But they’re obviously knowing they could win Game 2 with him going the distance here.”

Well, almost. The thing was, the Sea Unicorns weren’t quite sure they were going to have him. Wootton (2-1, 2.34) interns at the Milford, Conn. Police Department, had to go to Norwich to get his gear and then drive to Nashua.

“I showed up in the first game in like the fourth or fifth inning,” Wootton said.

But that didn’t stop him from being effective. At one point he retired 12 straight Silver Knights, and he struck out seven and walked no one in his seven innings.

“Mainly it was getting first pitch strike, fastball, curveball, whatever it was,” he said. “And then going from there.”

His team got him the only run he would need in the top of the third when Spencer Chard singled with one out and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch from Knights starter Josh Florence. They plated three more in the fifth off Knights lefty Mike Crowley, one on a bases-loaded walk and two more on a base hit that seemed playable for second baseman Will Shaheen but just bounced out of his reach.

“He knows, young guy,” Guarino said. “He’s a very good baseball player, but at the end of the day he’s also a high school guy. He’s going to learn, we’re throwing him into the fire.”

Meanwhile, Zorc’s Game 1 homer was still a memorable moment. Nashua had taken a 1-0 lead on a Zorc RBI single in the fifth, but Norwich tied it on a bases-loaded walk issued by reliever Brennan Rumpf. Knights ace Andrew Chenevert tossed five one-hit frames but gave up two hits and plunked a batter with no one out in the sixth, leading to his exit.

No matter. With one out, in the bottom of the seventh, Sea Unicorns reliever Ryan Camp made his 0-2 mistake and Zorc, who will be a sophomore at Princeton, sent it over the lower row of billboards in left. And a long drive to right in the nightcap in the first inning with Patterson on base just went foul.

“Just staying with his approach, we talked about it throughout the week,” Guarino said. “We said, ‘Hey, you’ve just got to stay middle-right side, that’s when you’re at your best.’ He has the ability to drive gaps with power.”

Meanwhile, Norwich’s Wootton showed his ability in the nightcap.

“At the end of the day, they had something to play for, and so did we,” Guarino said.

NOTES

The Knights have been without their best hitter, leadoff man Ernie Little, the last three games and it’s definitely impacted the offense (just six runs). It turns out Little has a bad back. “He was red-flagged today, he’s going to take (today) off … Monday have the off day, see where he’s at. Tuesday hopefully back in the lineup. Nothing crazy. Makes a big difference. But the other guys have to step up.”…

Bishop Guerin alum Jake Boudreau (Saint Anselm) tossed a scoreless seventh with a strikeout for Nashua…

Guarino will send right Ethan Hunt (0-1, 3.00) to the hill today. Better weather is expected than yesterday’s cool, damp feel.