Lowell Spinners lose to Nashua Silver Knights, 7-1

After a 2-4 road trip, the Lowell Spinners (5-13) returned to LeLacheur Park on Tuesday night to face the Nashua Silver Knights (8-10) before a crowd of 1,903. The Spinners trotted out a new arm to start the game as Matt Pappalardo, who helped Endicott College reach the Division II College World Series, made his debut for Lowell. After a scoreless first inning, Nashua struck first in the second. Nate Kearney (3-for-5, 3 RS) singled to right field and scored one out later on an RBI double off the base of the right-field wall by Hudson Story, putting Nashua up 1-0. The Spinners quickly tied the game in the bottom of the frame against Silver Knights starter Malcolm Klingler. Nic Lembo was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Quincey Kerr, and advanced to third when Nashua first baseman Kearney dropped a throw on the bunt. Lembo then crossed the plate on an RBI hit from Ryan O’Leary, tying the score at 1-1 after two.

Nashua retook the lead in the third inning on an RBI double-play ball to make it 2-1. The Silver Knights then ended Pappalardo’s night by tacking on two more runs in the fifth. Pappalardo’s final line for his debut was 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, and 6 SO. Phoenix Williams (2-for-3, 2 RS, 2 RBI) led off the fifth with a base hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and stole third base. He scored on a single to center by Tyson Gill to push the lead to 3-1. Nashua added their fourth run of the night against Spinners reliever Jake Zawalsky on an RBI hit from Peter Keblinsky, making it 4-1 after five.

Klingler, meanwhile, was comfortably getting the job done on the mound. In his five innings of work, he allowed only two hits, walked none, and struck out seven. He threw 64 pitches—43 for strikes. Only one Spinners hitter reached second base during his outing, which was Lembo on his second-inning run. In total, Lowell managed to get just three hitters to second base all night. Nashua’s stellar pitching across the board was a major reason why they left LeLacheur Park with the victory. With the win, the Silver Knights are now 5-0 against the Spinners so far this summer.

Nashua capped off their scoring in the later frames. In the eighth inning, Williams stroked a two-run double into the left-center field gap, scoring Kearney and Caleb Vacchiano to extend the lead to 6-1. They added one final insurance run in the ninth to lock in the 7-1 final score. The Silver Knights’ bullpen was just as sharp on Tuesday night, as the relief duo of Ryan Maiorano and Bryce McClelland combined for four innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out four to keep Lowell completely off the board.

The Spinners will return to LeLacheur Park on Wednesday night to face the Worcester Bravehearts, with the first pitch scheduled for 7 PM.