NASHUA, NH — The Vermont Lake Monsters scored five runs on five hits for a 6-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning and then added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth in a 9-5 Futures League victory over the Nashua Silver Knights Sunday afternoon at Holman Stadium.
The Lake Monsters trailed 3-0 before collecting their first hit and run in fourth on a Mark Quatrani (Cornell) solo home run. Jacob Miller (Jacksonville) and Jackson Sirios (Virginia) opened the fifth with back-to-back singles and Miller scored on a Joe Marini (Catholic) RBI single.
Vermont tied the game 3-3 when the following batter, Quatrani, was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Evan Dennis (West Rygate, VT/Colby Sawyer) then gave the Lake Monsters the lead with a two-run single to left and Jackson Kraemer (Richmond) capped off the inning with another RBI single.
The Silver Knights cut the deficit to 6-5 with single runs in the sixth and seventh, but Vermont loaded the bases in the ninth on pair of walks and a hit batter before Eric Jeon (Princeton) grounded a two-out, two-run single to left with Sirios scoring on the play from first on an outfield fielding error for a 9-5 advantage.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
* Marini 2-for-5, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
* Dennis 2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 RBI
* Hayden Mutz (AIC) 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
* Quatrani, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year after 11 homers this spring, hit his 1st Vermont home run in his first start
* 8 of the 9 Lake Monster batters had at least 1 hit with Quatrani and Sirios 2 runs each
* Mutz has now allowed 3 ER over 10 IP (2.70 ERA) in his 2 Monster starts
* Sean Gamble (Minnesota State) 1 unearned run with 2 strikeouts over 2 innings of relief, while Wyatt Camerson (Salisbury, VT/Central Connecticut) 2 strikeouts in 1 scoreless IP
BEYOND BOXSCORE
* Along with 10 hits, Vermont batters also had 11 walks and were hit by pitches 3 times
* The 5 Lake Monster pitchers combined to walk just 1 batter and struckout 9
* Vermont is 5-2 for 1st time in its 4 FCBL seasons (4-3 in both 2022 and 2023)
Next Game: Tuesday, 6:30 at Norwich
Next Home Game: Thursday, 6:35pm vs. Brockton