BURLINGTON, VT — After coughing up a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, the Vermont Lake Monsters rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning and went on to win their fourth straight with a 4-2 victory over the West Field Starfires in front of 3,049 on Delta Dental Diamond at historic Centennial Field Saturday night.
Bryan Richamn (Pasadena CC), Shaun McMillan (St. John’s) and James Henshon (Tufts) opened the bottom of the eighth with three straight singles to tie the game at 2-2. After a one-out walk loaded the bases, McMillan scored from third on a wild pitch on an 0-2 count. Conner Vercollone (Saint Bonaventure) worked the count full before giving Vermont an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to center.
Reliever Jack Birtwell (Gordon), who had come into the game in the top of the eighth after the Startfires had taken the lead and had escaped a one-out bases loaded jam, retired the final three batters after a leadoff single in the ninth to earn the victory.
Vermont had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth when McMillan led off with a double and scored after a pair of flyouts including a Thomas O’Connell (Virginia) sacrifice fly. Starter Jackson Beattie (Navy) tossed five scoreless innings, allowing four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
* McMillan 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B
* Henshon 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI
* Beattie 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
* Vermont has won 4 straight games for 1st time since a 7-game win streak July 9-18, 2024
* Jack McLaughlin (Tufts) made his 2025 Lake Monsters debut with a scoreless 6th inning
* Aaron LaRose (St. Joseph’s CT/CVU) tossed a 1-2-3 of 7th inning in Vermont debut
* Along with McMillan, Henshon and O’Connell, Hunter Kingsbury (Bryant) had 2 hits
* Sam Cavossa (Saint Michael’s) went 0-for-4 to snap his 8-game hitting streak to open season|
* Vermont has drawn 3,000+ for 2 of its 3 home dates, averaging leading 2,815
Next Game: Sunday vs. Westfield, 5:05pm
(Baseball Card Giveaway, Post-Game Have a Catch and Kids Run The Bases