Nashua shortstop Nigel Sebastianelli and Vermont base runner Tyler Harmony, left, watch the play at first after Harmony was forced at second during Sunday's FCBL game at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – There was not too much good, but plenty bad and ugly for the Nashua Silver Knights on Sunday at Holman Stadium.

The good: The Knights outhit the Vermont Lake Monsters 16-7, and tried to rally in the ninth inning, showing some fight before what was left of an announced crowd of 1,811.

The bad: They weren’t able to overcome mistakes in a 13-9 loss, their third of a four-game weekend homestand.

The ugly: Nashua committed five physical errors, a few mental ones, Knights pitchers issued 10 walks, and the offense left 12 men on.

Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino was very matter of fact when he spoke to the 14-14 team immediately after on the field.

What did he tell them?

“That the way that they played on the defensive side of the baseball will not play at any level of college baseball,” he said. “That this is the time of year to get better at things, and we’re getting worse at things. And if that’s the way they’re going to carry themselves in the fall, it’s going to be a tough time to get some playing time when they go back out there.”

In other words, Guarino aimed where it would hurt. “It’s embarrassing the way it happened right there,” he said. “We should win that game 9-3.”

There were mental gaffes – for example, DH Dylan Littlefield lost track of how many outs there were at second after his double in the cut an early 4-0 deficit to 4-2. Thus he was doubled up on an infield pop fly. That’s just one example. The downfall really began when center fielder Cole Patterson lost a ball in the sun in left center in the fourth, opening the door for four Vermont runs.

“We talked about it,” Guarino said. “We had five errors on the board, we had nine errors total. … passed ball, stolen bases we allow, the sun ball where just not talking. We tied our runs with errors, mental and physical.”

Nashua trailed 4-2, then 6-2, battled back again to close it to 6-4 but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh when Vermont reliever Zander Teator struck out both Nigel Sebastianelli and Joseph Zorc. But you know it wouldn’t be that day when, after reliever Nolan Mederos walked the bases loaded – one was intentional – in the eighth, his replacement, reliever Brandon Metivier, served up a 2-0 pitch that Vermont’s Shaun McMillan drilled over the wall in dead center on a line drive that took maybe three seconds to get out.

“That’s the best player in the league over there,” Guarino said. “I told Brandon ‘We can’t expect you to be lights out every single day. We put you in a tough spot, you had to make a pitch there, you challenge him, he hits it out. It’s what we did before that that compounds it.”

Silver Knights first baseman River Hart waits for a possible throw as Vermont’s Tyler Harmony dives back to first during Sunday’s FCBL contest at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Down 13-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the Knights scored four times to make things somewhat respectable. Otherwise they wasted a day in which they had 16 hits, which doesn’t happen very often. Zorc, Patterson, and Pat Shrake each had three hits and Campbell alum Jack Kidwell impressed off the bench with two doubles.

“We swung it well, they battled back, which was great; that’s been our thing all year, that we battle, battle, battle,” Guarino said. “They didn’t roll over, guys kept the energy up. Guys who came into the game when we were down took advantage of their opportunities. … We’ve just got to clean the little things. up. Simple baseball. You’ve got to be able to play simple baseball.

“Right now we just can’t do that.”