Vermont Lake Monsters

Vermont Shutout In Finals Game 1 Friday

Game 1 Boxscore

BURLINGTON, VT  — Game one of the Futures League best-of-three Championship Series was all New Britain as six Bees pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout and their offense scored runs in six different innings, including a five-run fifth, to hand the Vermont Lake Monsters an 11-0 loss Friday night on Delta Dental Diamond at Centennial FIeld. 

The Bees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Vermont starter Will Torres (AIC), who had thrown just 2 ⅓ innings over three outings in the regular season, allowed a pair of RBI singles along with two walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts in the inning. After just a walk over the next 2 ⅔ innings, Torres gave up a two-out single and double in the fourth before leaving. 

New Britain scored later in the fourth on a wild pitch for a 3-0 advantage, the scored five runs on five hits in the fifth inning including two RBI singles and a Kacin Robinson three-run triple. The Bees scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, finishing the game with 11 runs on 15 hits. 

Offensively, Vermont was held to just two hits, a Jake Lopez (Indianapolis) two-out infield single in the first and a Bryan Richman (Cal Poly Pomona) leadoff infield single in the third, until a Thomas Moss (Trinity) two-out RBI single to center in the ninth. The three total base hits were a season low for the Lake Monsters, who also suffered their first shutout loss of the season. 

Game two of the finals will take place on Saturday in New Britain beginning at 6:30pm. If Vermont is successful in forcing a third-and-deciding game, it is scheduled for 1:05pm Sunday at Centennial Field. 

MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
* Moss 1-for-2, 2 BB
* Richman 1-for-4 and 1.0 scoreless IP, 2 SO

MONSTER NOTES
* 3 Vermont position players each pitched 1 inning over the final 3 frames
    *  OF Ryan Ruggiero (Bucknell)1 strikeout and a 2-out solo homer in 7th
    * 3B Danny O’Brien (Montclair State) 1 run on 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeout in 8th
    * SS Richman gave up a  2-out infield single and had 2 strikeouts top of 9th
* Playing in their 4th FCBL championship series, Vermont now 1-3 in game 1
* Only game 1 finals win was 12-0 victory over Nashua in 2022 (Vermont lost next 2 games 6-5)
*  2nd straight year New Britain has shutout Vermont in playoffs (1-0 in game 2 of 2025 semis)
*  Last regular-season shutlout loss for the Lake Monsters was June 26, 2025 (7-0 to Nashua)

UPCOMING |
Finals Game 2:  Saturday at New Britain,, 6:30pm at Centennial Field
Broadcast: WYCI (TV),  FCBLnetwork.com (streaming), WJOY 1230am (radio)