Nashua third baseman Hunter Troiano tags out Westfield's Nck Fox trying to go from first to third on a base hit during Saturday night's FCBL game at Historic Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Game was on. Bats were off.

A week ago, the Nashua Silver Knights left Lowell’s LeLacheur Park feeling invincible at the plate, with six homers and an attack that was potent enough to overcome the team’s pitching woes at the time.

Fast forward seven days, and the Nashua offense has become anemic while the pitching has given the Knights enough to win.

That’s baseball, Susan.

Saturday night, in front of a Historic Holman Stadium crowd of basically friends and family (announced 551) thanks to the dreary weather, Nashua dropped its third straight, falling 3-0 to the FCBL’s last place Westfield Starfires.

It was the only FCBL game played – the rain basically subsided by 4 p.m. giving the Knights a chance to gain on everyone with the last place team traveling two-plus hours on a day it probably thought it might have off.

Nope.

The problem was the Starfires had righty Josh Mayo on the mound, and all he did the last time they faced the Knights was toss a complete game shutout. This time he lasted into the eighth.

“Again, four pitches for strikes in the zone, tough to hit,” a frustrated Knights manager Nick Guarino said, his team with just two runs in the last 18 innings, six in 27. “When he can hit on four pitches consistently, got ahead of everybody, pitched his game again. Lot of fly balls, not a lot of adjustments, lack of energy.”

It was that kind of night. Nashua had three hits in the first off Mayo but came up empty, while Westfield got a run on a fielder’ choice in the first. The Silver Knights had just three more hits the rest of the way.

It stayed 1-0 all the way until the seventh. Michael Cobb had turned in 3.1 innings of great relief, but fellow reliever Jameson Dobis tossed a 1-0 fastball that Starfires DH Morrie Fried sent to Merrimack with a man on for a 3-0 lead. No wonder he and Mayo will be back at Holman on Tuesday for the FCBL All-Star Game, Fried to compete in the Home Run Derby. He is hitting .455 against fastballs.

“I know he is, trust me,” Guarino said, saying the team’s arms has made poor choise of pitches against some of the hitters who did damage this week. “We tell these guys things, it doesn’t register.”

Silver Knights reliever Michael Cobb allowed just one run in 3.1 innings of relief during Saturday night’s game vs.Westfield at Historic Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Nashua did have a couple of other chances, its best in the bottom of the eighth. With two on, Connor Smith hit the ball a mile off Starfires reliever Jack Dyer but to the deepest part of the park where Westfield center fielder John Calabrese ran it down for the second out. After Peter Keblinsky got plunked, Mason Campagna also flew out hard to center to end the threat.

“The nature of the game is that’s just how it works,” Smith said of the reversal the last few games. “I think honestly we’ve taken some good at bats last couple of games, lot of barrels, but just some unfortunate situations, it’s been tough to try to battle back from. We’ve got a lot of games left.The All-Star break is a nice refresher for the guys, kind of get their minds right.”

“I told them the energy sucks, you’ve got to pick it up,” Guarino said. “I know it’s that time of the year when guys are shuffling in and out, guys are a little tired. So is every other team in the league. You’ve got to be able to tough it out, grit it out.”

The timing isn’t good. The Knights head to Vermont for a doubleheader today to wrap things up before the All-Star break, sending Josh Florence and newcomer Jefrey Luchsinger and current ace Josh Florence to the hill.

“It’s funny, the lineup’s just not doing it right now, which is weird, and the pitching is,” Guarino said. “Hopefully at some point after the All-Star break we can still gell it all together. I’d like to go to Vermont (today) and not lose two. Let’s surprise everybody and take two.”

Hey why not? Because after all, that’s baseball.