Silver Knights' Ben Peterson lays across the plate, scoring while Worcester catcher Alan Carpenter goes airborne on the play during Friday night's FCBL game at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – No lead is ever save in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

That was the feeling in the Nashua Silver Knights dugout Friday night when the Worcester Bravehearts clawed all the way back from a 7-0 deficit to have the tying run at third with one out in the ninth inning, and they had second and third with nobody out.

“When that happened, I was planning for the bottom of the ninth,” Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino said. “I was starting to talk about subs and what we were going to do on offense.

“We had to resilient on the mound to get out of that jam. We’re battle tested, which is great.”

Oh they were tested. When Knights reliever Brody Bump came with the score 7-4 and two on and none out and a run in, he gave up a first-pitch RBI double to Worcester’s Andre Arthur, the first hit he’d allowed in the first nine days of the young season. He gave up an RBI groundout to second, then struck out John Ramsey to the loud cheers of the 1,482 who could sense an escape. Then there was a low and a high in an instant when the speedy Braveheart Dylan Prince hit a high chop that Bump had zero chance to get.

But Knights infielder Caleb Vacchiano out of Southern Maine had a slight chance. He charged, scooped, threw and got Prince by barely a half a step. Vacchiano knew the game was on the line.

“Absolutely, I knew it was a green runner, got to get rid of it fast,” Vacchiano said. “Saw the chopper on the ground, just attack the baseball, and try to get rid of it. Do what I can.”

“Vacch’s a dude,” Bump said. “I knew he was going to get it done for us. I had no worries at all.”

“Big getting the strikeout and even bigger by Vacchiano making the play there,” Guarino said. “The reaction (when the Ball got beyond Bump) was ‘Oh bleep.'”

But now it’s ‘Oh, joy.’ It was a good day for Nashua as the Knights found out what was supposed to be the completion of Monday’s suspended game this coming Tuesday with the Knights up 10-4 turned into a win. The Spinners opted out, preferring not to come up to Nashua for an early 5 p.m. start before the regular game an hour later, so the Knights (4-5) had a Fabulous Friday.

It wasn’t supposed to be this close for a few reasons. One was a whopping six Worcester errors, plus the superb pitching of Nashua starter Will Perkowski out of Dayton via Goffstown. Perkowski allowed just one hit over six scoreless frames. He didn’t just pitch, he dominated.

“Mixing it early really helped,” Perkowski said. “Me and Pete (Knights catcher Fischer) were talking about it earlier, they were sitting heater, so a lot of off-speed early. He was making good pitch calls, me and him, we were on the same wavelength. I felt great. It was awesome.”

Nashua took a 3-0 lead in the second on Ben Peterson’s RBI double, an infield RBI hit by Hunter Troiano, and another on a double steal – the ol’ first-and-third play. Two more came in in the fifth thanks to two more Braveheart errors. Vacchiano doubled in a run in the seventh and Peter Fischer singled one in in the same frame. Seven zip.

Will Perkowski pitched six shutout innings vs.Worcester on Friday night at Historic Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

What happened? Knights reliever Jameson Dobis pitched a scoreless seventh, and then Nashua turned to Farfield’s nine-save closer Ryan Maiorano. He simply didn’t have it, giving up three runs on four hits in the eighth and couldn’t get the first three out in the ninth (two walks, RBI single by Worcester’s Alan Carpenter. Enter Bump and then another run in on Arthur’s double. What did the Millersville (Pa.) University reliever think?

“Just got to lock back in, next pitch, and go from there,” Bump said. “Just one pitch at a time.”

Two outs later came the chop that Vacchiano breathed a sigh of relief on after making the play.

“Absolutely,” Vacchiano said. “See Hudson (first baseman Story) catch it over at first, beat him out, good feeling – win good baseball game against a good team.”

Nashua now heads on the road tonight to face three-time defending FCBL champ Norwich with Nigel Cross taking the mound before returning home for the first Sunday game of the season at 3 p.m. vs. New Britain. Dayton’s Lucas Collins is slated to take the hill for that one.