BURLINGTON, VT — The Vermont Lake Monsters celebrated “Dig In For Pete” night at historic Centennial Field by snapping a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Westfield Starfires in Futures League action Saturday night.
After Westfield took a 3-1 lead with three unearned runs in the fifth, Vermont got one run back in the bottom of the fifth on a Tommy Martin (Yale) RBI double to center. The Lake Monsters then scored three times in the sixth on a Kyle Lodise (Augusta) bases loaded walk, Antonio Gianni (Central Arizona) RBI forceout and a Colby Brouillette (BFA/Central Connecticut) RBI double.
Vermont added an insurance run in the seventh on an Antonio Perrotta (Virginia) RBI single. Oliver Pudvar (CVU/Manhattan) retired six of the seven batters he faced (five by strikeout) in the seventh and eighth innings. Callen Fang (Harvard) loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth before back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
Starter Francis Ferguson went 5 ⅔ innings, allowing the three unearned runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The left-hander out of Eastern Nazarene College has not allowed an earned run in last 16 innings pitched over three starts.
The victory came on a night that the Lake Monsters and their fans celebrated Head Coach Pete Wilk, who recently rejoined the team as he continues to “Dig In” in his fight against cancer. Vermont (25-13) will host Westfield again on Sunday starting at 5:05pm.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Ferguson 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
- Pudvar 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
- Martin 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Fang earned his 5th save of the season (2nd behind Wyatt Cameron’s 7 for league-lead)
- Perrotta snapped an 0-for-21 skid, going 2-for-3 with walk, run and RBI
- Vermont batters had 7 walks and 5 strikeouts, 13th time this season more walks than strikeouts in a game.
- Luc Laviguer (Maine) record the final out of the sixth inning to earn his 1st win
Next Game: Sunday vs. Westfield, 5:05pm (Have A Catch and Run The Bases post-game)