Tommy Flaherty will get the nod to start arguably the biggest game of the Silver Knights season tonight at New Britain. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It’s the Final Countdown.

Drum up the music, right? Tonight begins the final week of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League 2025 regular season, and the question is, is this the final week of the Nashua Silver Knights season, period?

Tonight will give us a good idea. Nashua (23-32) is at New Britain (25-31), amazingly still in the hunt,trailing the Bees by 1.5 games for the fourth and final playoff spot. Neither team has had a Home Run Derby so the winning percentage will likely be the final determination.

But with five games left, if Nashua loses tonight, it will basically need a miracle. There are only five games left for the Knights: at the Bees, then home at Holman Stadium Wednesday and Thursday vs. Worcester and Westfield, respectively; at Westfield on Friday; and home in the regular season finale vs. Vermont on Saturday evening. They have had trouble beating either of the top two teams in the league (the Bravehearts and Lake Monsters) in the last three weeks, but let’s face it, at 1-13 over their last 14, the Knights unfortunately haven’t been able to beat anyone. That win came against last place Westfield on the road exactly a week ago.

New Britain, meanwhile, has this: home vs. Nashua and Westfield; at Norwich; home vs. Norwich Friday and at Worcester in the Saturday finale. Worcester by then will likely have clinched the top seed and have not much to play for as it preps for the playoffs that as of now are slated to start Sunday.

Could Nashua catch Norwich for third? The Sea Unicorns after a big surge have reversed course and lost six straight and are 26-30, so it’s not out of the realm of remote possibility.

Norwich’s schedule: Home vs. Vermont tonight and Wednesday; home vs. New Britain, at New Britain, then at Westfield.

“We’ve got five games to go,” Silver Knights catcher-DH Joey Current said. “We’ve just got to put everything on the field for those last five. It’s the only thing you can do from here on out. That’s all that matters right now.”

HELP FOR TONIGHT

Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino is hoping to have one of his best lineups for tonight’s game, which is between the two worst hitting teams in the FCBL but two of the top three pitching teams.

It was possible that former Knight outfielder Tommy Ahlers would be rejoining the team in time for tonight’s game, and in a surprise, injured infielder Ernie Little, who was hitting over .400 until he was shut down with a back injury, suffering one failed return already.

“He told me he was hitting BP and feels good,” Guarino said. “Having those two will be huge.”

Righty Tommy Flaherty (1-3, 4.21) will get the nod on the mound, and is third in the FCBL in strikeouts with 44. Scheduled for New Britain is UConn junior righthander Garrett Garbinski,who is 0-1 but has an ERA of 0.70 in 12 appearances, 10 of them starts. He also has 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings, with – get this – just three walks. It will not be easy for Nashua, that’s for certain.

The Knights will also have reliever Rob Gilchrist available. Gilchrist is on a limit of just one game per week, and this may be the one. “We’ll have those guys available,” Guarino said, “so let’s go win a baseball game.

“We’ll be all right. Just got to keep showing up.”

STREAK OPINION

Here’s Current’s thought on the 10-game losing streak, which no one expected:

“Yeah, look, it was that point in the year when you have missing pieces (players shut down) and you’re trying to put it together, trying to get to know new guys at the same time,” he said. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got five games to go, that’s all that matters.”

STATS AND SUCH

Patrick Shake continues to lead the league in hitting at .347, just ahead of Vermont’s Sam Cavossa, who is at.345…

Nashua starter Andrew Chenevert is in a five-way tie atop the wins leaders with five…

Team-wise, Nashua is next to last in hitting at .237, ahead ironically of New Britain’s .231. The Knights have scored the fifth fewest runs in the league (242), also just ahead of New Britain’s 237. They’re also fifth out of six teams in on base percentage (.341) and slugging (.300). You see their main weakness right away, because they are second in pitching with a team ERA of 4.30 (Worcester leads at 4.02), while New Britain is third (4.37). Nashua is fourth in fielding percentage (.954).

ATTENDANCE

Nashua is third, averaging 1,636 fans per game, ahead of fourth place Norwich (1,598). Vermont is head and shoulders above the rest at 2,704, followed by Worcester at 1,920. New Britain is fifth (1,505) while Westfield is last (1,048).