Vermont Takes Series Finale 5-4 At Lowell
LOWELL, MA — Vermont Lake Monsters pitchers held the Spinners hitless over the first six innings, but needed a three-run top of the seventh inning to take the lead and then hold on for a 5-4 Futures League victory over Lowell Monday afternoon at LeLecheur Park.Â
The Spinners took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings without the benefit of a hit. Vermont got a run back in the fourth on a James Henshon (Tufts) RBI single before taking a 4-2 lead in the seventh on a Bryan Richman (Cal Poly Pomona) RBI single and Jack Fitzgerald (Montevallo) tie-breaking two-run single to left.Â
Lowell got its first hit of the game with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh and cut the deficit to 4-3 with a two-out RBI single, but Vermont got that run back in the eighth on a James Schaffer (Stony Brook) RBI fielder’s choice after Richman’s third single of the game put a runner on third.Â
Spinners put together three two-out base hits in the bottom of the ninth to score a run, but left the tying run on second base as Jack Kelleher (James Madison) earned the save in his 2026 Vermont debut.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
*Â Richman 3-for-5, R, RBI
*Â Fitzgerald 1-for-4, BB, 2 RBI
* Kelleher (save) 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
BEYOND THE BOXSCOREÂ
* Richman has now hit safely in 10 straight games to open the season, hitting . 465 (20-for-43)
* Elias Huber (Arizona Western) reached base in all five plate appearances with 4 walks and hit by pitch
* Starter Justin Sweeney (Saint Joseph’s) allowed 2 runs (1 earned) with 3 walks, 4 strikeouts in VT debut
* Brett Gable (Harvard) also had 4 strikeouts in 1.1 innings as Vermont pitchers struckout season-high 13
* Ethan Freed (Quinnipiac), Sam Lebrecque (Oberlin) and Doug Pyle (Azusa Pacific) each with hitless IP
* Vermont and Lowell pitchers combined 16 walks and 23 strikeouts over 9innings (362 total pitches)
* Lake Monsters 1st win at Lowell since August 9, 2019 when both teams in their final NY-Penn League seasons
UPCOMINGÂ
Next Game: Tuesday, June 9th vs. Worcester, 6:35pm
Broadcast: WYCI (TV), FCBLnetwork.com (stream), WJOY 1230am (radio)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â