Nashua Silver Knights
| Nashua Silver Knights | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| League | FCBL (West Division) | |||
| Location | Nashua, NH | |||
| Ballpark | Holman Stadium | |||
| Year Founded | 2010 | |||
| League championships | 2 (2011, 2012) | |||
| Colors |
Red, Black, Silver | |||
| Mascot | Sir Sterling | |||
| Ownership | Drew Webber | |||
| Management |
Lowell Spinners (Operator) B.J. Neverett (GM) | |||
| Manager | J.P. Pyne | |||
| Website | nashuasilverknights.com | |||
The Nashua Silver Knights are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire. It is a charter member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with a 56-game regular season.[1] The league now comprises 10 teams from southern Maine to western Connecticut. The team's home games are played at Holman Stadium in Nashua. The team is managed by the Lowell Spinners, the Class A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.[2]
Ownership
The Silver Knights were not just a charter team of the FCBL but an impetus for the creation of the FCBL, as Drew Weber, owner of the Spinners, wanted to also operate a franchise in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. When this was not feasible, Weber and others created the FCBL. Chris Hall, who had been the General Manager of professional and collegiate teams in Nashua, became the league's commissioner.
Results
The name Knights was chosen over three other club nominations by a vote of Nashua grade-school students. The club modified the winner to "Silver Knights" to avoid conflict with an existing amateur baseball team in the city.[1]
In their inaugural 2011 season, the Silver Knights led the league in attendance, with an average of 869 spectators per game,[3] far above initial expectations of 300-500 fans.[1] The Silver Knights won the regular season, with a 27-16 record, and defeated Torrington (25-17) in a best-of-three championship series.[4] Mike Chambers was the first field manager.
In 2012, the league expanded from 4 to 9 teams. B.J. Neverett was promoted to manager, with Tom Bowles and J.P. Pyne assisting as coaches.
In the 2012 season, the Silver Knights improved their attendance to an average of 1,125 spectators per game. The Silver Knights dominated the regular season with a 39-13 record. Then they swept through the Brockton Rox and North Shore Navigators to win their second consecutive FCBL Championship.
For 2013, Neverett was promoted to the front office as VP of Player Development, and Pyne became the manager on the field.[5] The regular-season record of 34-19 was one game behind Martha's Vineyard (at 35-18). Both teams thus earned a bye from the "one-game play-in" instituted that year for the next-best four teams, and both teams won their best-of-three semifinal series in two games. But Martha's Vineyard, which had won 6 of the 7 regular-season contests against Nashua, won both games of the championship series.
Postseason Appearances
| Year | Play-In Round** | Semi-Final Round* | FCBL Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Torrington Titans | W (2-0) | ||||
| 2012 | Brockton Rox | W (2-0) | North Shore Navigators | W (2-0) | ||
| 2013 | Brockton Rox | W (2-0) | Martha's Vineyard Sharks | L (0-2) | ||
- *The FCBL changed its postseason to a two-round format starting in the 2012 season
- ** A one-game Play-In round was added in the 2013 season
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 King, Tom (March 4, 2011). "Silver Knights are off and running in city". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ↑ King, Tom (February 8, 2011). "It’ll be Silver Knights playing at Holman". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ↑ Editorial (August 8, 2011). "City should extend Silver Knights pact". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ King, Tom (August 6, 2011). "Silver Knights win FCBL title". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved August 18, 2011. "And in the end, the Nashua Silver Knights franchise had the best players, capturing the inaugural FCBL Championship Cup with an 8-3 win over the Torrington Titans on Friday night to complete a two-game sweep."
- ↑ "Nashua Silver Knights promote Neverett, Pyne & Berthiaume". Nashua Silver Knights. 2012-10-04.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
