A day after scoring at least one run in each of the first four innings for an 8-2 lead at Pittsfield, the Lake Monsters went one better with at least a run in each of the first five innings Thursday for a 9-1 advantage.
Kelly (Kansas) smacked a two-run homer, his first of the season, over the right-centerfield fence in the second inning to give Vermont a 3-1 lead. The Lake Monsters added two more runs in the fourth and one in the fourth before three more runs in the fifth.
Hawke (Wake Forest), playing in just his second game with Vermont, capped off the scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning by crushing a solo homer over both sets of advertising billboards in right field.
Monster Performances
* Tommy Hawke 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
* Henry Godbout 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI
* Tobey McDonough (W) 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO
Monster Highlights
* Norwich took 1-0 lead top 1st inning before Vermont tied game bottom 1st on RBI groundout from Ryan Marra (Brown), who added a sacrifice fly in the 4th (Hawke added a sac fly in fourth for 6-1 lead)
* Lake Monsters 3-run 5th included Henry Godbout (Virginia) RBI double and runs scoring on wild pitch and passed ball
* Norwich scored 3 runs on 4 hits in the top of the 6th cutting the deficit to 9-6
* Jimmy Evans (Tufts) was 1-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs and an RBI to extend on-base streak to 15 straight games
* After a strikeout to end top 6th, Zach Lewis (Wake Forest), Evan Clark (USC) and Jacob Buurman (Stevens) each tossed a 1-2-3 inning as Vermont relievers retired final 10 Norwich batters.
Beyond The Boxscore
* Vermont (15-4) have won 15 of its last 16 games after dropping first 3 games of season and have also won 10 straight games at Centennial
* This is 2nd team in team history (1994-present) that Lake Monsters have started a season 15-4 (2010), while Vermont has never won 16 of its first 20 games
* Since July 1st 2021, the Lake Monsters have a 45-10 regular-season record (30-6 to end 2021, 15-4 in 2022)
* 7 total strikeouts by Vermont pitchers marked 1st time in 19 games this season Lake Monster pitchers had fewer than 9 strikeouts in a game
Next Game: Friday vs. Norwich, 6:35pm
Vermont Maple Kings Night!