BURLINGTON, VT — The Westfield Starfires scored nine unanswered runs over the final three innings to erase a six-run deficit and defeat the Vermont Lake Monsters 16-13 in a 4-hour, 13-minute Futures League marathon at historic Centennial Field Saturday night.
Vermont led 13-7 when the Silver Knights scored three times in the seventh, took the lead in the eighth with four runs including a Julio Solier two-out go ahead three-run triple and added two unearned runs in the ninth on a two-out, two-run fielding error.
The Lake Monsters had built the six-run lead behind a four-run third inning for a 5-1 advantage and a four-tun sixth for the 13-7 lead. Zander Teator (Babson) had a two-run double in the third, while Chone James (Virginia) and Joey Gale (Saint Joseph’s) had RBI singles in the sixth.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Tyler Favretto (Kansas Wesleyan) 3-for-5, HBP, 2 R, 3BI
- Dylan Pacheco (Seton Hall) 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI in Vermont debut
- Gale 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Wyatt Patchett (Le Moyne) hit his team-leading 4th home run and added a sacrifice fly for a 2-RBI night
- The first 5 batters in the Vermont order each scored 2 runs, while 4 players recorded 2-hit games to go along with Favretto’s 3-hit night
- Starter Cole Riskin (Clarkson) allowed 2 runs over the first 4.1 innings before giving up back-to-back RBI doubles followed by a 2-run homer in the 5th inning
- Both teams finished game with 7 walks and 7 strikeouts, while combining for 29 hits (6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs)
BEYOND BOXSCORE
- The 29 combined runs are the most in a FCBL-era Lake Monsters game, surpassing the 27 in Vermont’s 14-13 win over Pittsfield July 12, 2022
- The 2 pitching staffs combined for 379 total pitches (194 by 4 Westfield hurlers and 185 by 6 Vermonters)
- The 4:13 time of game sets a new Lake Monster record for longest 9-inning FCBL game (4:11 August 5, 2021 at Pittsfield), while previous longest at Centennial was 4:09 in the July 12, 2022 14-13 win vs. Pittsfield
- 2nd time this season that Westfield has rallied from at least 6 down to beat Vermont, having comeback from 8-0 deficit to beat Lake Monsters 9-8 on June 18th
Next Game: Sunday July 7th, 5:05pm vs. Westfield (Bike To The Ballpark)
Broadcast Info: Streaming on FCBLnetwork.com