BURLINGTON, VT — The Westfield Starfires rallied from an 8-0 deficit with two runs in the top of the seventh and seven runs on seven hits in the eighth inning for a come-from-behind 9-8 victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters in Futures League action Tuesday night in front of a soldout crowd of 4,415 at historic Centennial Field.
The Lake Monsters jumped out the 8-0 lead with the help of a four-run second inning that saw a three-run double from Dawson Bryce (Merrimack), who later scored on a fielder’s choice for a 5-0 Vermont advantage. Lake Monsters added a Mark Quatrani (Cornell) sacrifice fly in the fourth and 2 more runs in fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice and wild pitch.
Vermont starter Jackson Beattie (Navy) allowed just two hits with no walks and four strikeouts over his five innings of work, but the Starfires began their rally with two runs in the seventh on four hits, including an RBI single and RBI double.
After a leadoff single and two strikeouts started the top of the eighth, Westfield put together six straight hits which began with three consecutive singles, the second being a two-run single, a two-run double and an RBI double to cut the deficit to 8-7. Cameron Papetti then smashed an 0-1 pitch over the left-centerfield fence to give the Starfires the lead.
Vermont got the tying run to third in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, but a flyout to left ended the game dropping the Lake Monsters to 8-11 overall on the season
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Beattie (W) 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO (58 pitches, 39 strikes)
- Bryce 1-for-4, BB, R, 2B, 3 RBI
- Quatrani 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Colby Brouillette (Central Connecticut) had 2 hits in the game, including an RBI double in 1st inning
- 4 different Lake Monsters walked twice in game (Quatrani, Joey Gale, Jeter Polledo, Owen McKiernan) as Vermont batters had 9 walks and 9 strikeouts
- Vermont bullpen had allowed 1 earned run on 13 hits over previous 27.2 innings before allowing 9 earned runs on 12 hits in final 3 innings on Tuesday
BEYOND BOXSCORE
- The 9-8 loss marked the 1st time in the Lake Monsters 30-year history that Vermont has lost when leading a game by more than 6 runs at any point
- The sellout crowd of 4,415 was largest for the Lake Monsters at Centennial Field since 4,415 on August 6, 2022
- Thru 10 home dates, Vermont has drawn 25,160 (an average of 2,516 per game)
Next Game: Wednesday June 19th, 6:35pm vs. Westfield
Broadcast Info: FCBLnetwork.com