NASHUA, NH — Shaun McMillan smashed a grand slam homer in the eighth and Sam Cavossa added a three-run double in the top of the ninth as the Vermont Lake Monsters broke open a two-run lead to beat the Nashua Silver Knights 13-9 in Futures League action Sunday afternoon at Holman Stadium.
Vermont led 6-4 in the seventh when Zander Teator (Babson) worked out of a one-out bases loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts, then the Lake Monsters loaded the bases in the eight on a leadoff walk followed by two-out intentional walk and another walk. McMillan (St. John’s) drilled a 2-0 pitch over the centerfield fence to increase his league-lead RBI total to 28 and Vermont a 10-4 advantage.
Nashua got a run back in the bottom of the eighth before Vermont again loaded the bases on three walks in the ninth and Cavossa (Saint Michael’s) lined a double to right field to plate all three runners (third scoring on an error) for a 13-5 lead. The Silver Knights scored four times in the bottom of the ninth off Sean Gamble (Bethany Lutheran) to close out the scoring
Vermont had taken a 4-0 lead with a four-run top of the fourth inning, keyed by a Xander Meissner (Bethany Lutheran) two-run single. After Nashus cut the deficit to 4-2 with a pair of RBI doubles (Silver Knights had six doubles in the game), Leandro Guevara (AIC) restored the four-run advantage with a two-run single in the fifth.
MONSTER PERFORMANCE
* McMillan 1-for-5, HBP, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI
* Cavossa 2-for-5, BB, R, 2B, 3 RBI
* Jack Kelleher (Northern Essex CC) 5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO (3-0 record)
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
* Vermont President & CEO Chris English pinch hit in top of 9th inning and struckout (English, who previously was andowner of Nashua Pride, had a plate appearance for Silver Knights on Friday night as part of Nashua Pride Night)
* McMillan grand slam was 1st for Vermont since Kyle Lodise on May 27, 2023 vs. Pittsfield and the 5th Lake Monsters slam in their FCBL-era (hit 3 in 2021: Chris Brown with 1 and Ethan Anderson 2)
* Grand slam was McMillan’s 6th home run of season, tying him for 2025 league lead and tying the Lake Monsters single-season FCBL record (Brian Schaub also had 6 in 2022)
* Cavossa 2 hits, run, 3-RBI keeps him in league lead with .421 average, 40 hits and 27 runs scored
* Nashua outhit Vermont 16-7 and had six doubles in the game
* Despite just 7 hits, Lake Monster batters reached 10 times by walk and 3 other were hit by a pitch
* 11 of Vermont’s 13 runs scored on 4 of the Lake Monsters 7 hits (slam, 3-run double, pair of 2-run singles)
* Vermont (19-10) has won 9 of its last 11 games and are 9 games over for 2nd time (17-9 on June 26)
* Lake Monsters finish with a 17-9 in month of June (combined 80-44. .645, in their 5 FCBL Junes)
Next Game: Tuesday vs. Worcester, 6:35pm)
Promotion: 25-cent Hot Dog Hysteria
Broadcast: WYCI (TV), FCBLnetwork.com (stream)