After a Brian Schuab (Trinity) sac fly in the first and a Jordan Kelly (Princeton) run on a passed ball with one out in the second, the Lake Monsters collected three more runs in the inning on three straight two-out singles from Cooper Kelly (Kansas), Jackson Kline (Kansas) and Gio Cueto (Wake Forest) before Hawke (Wake Forest) grounded a double down the leftfield line for a 5-0 lead.
Worcester got a run back in the fourth with a leadoff homer off Matson (Harvard), who finished his six innings with two runs allowed on four hits with one walk to go along with his fourth nine strikeout start of the season. Matson (4-2) leads the FCBL with a 1.82 ERA and has 62 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.
Cueto added a bad hop RBI double in the ninth to cap off a 3-for-3 night with a walk and hit by pitch to reach base safely in all five plate appearances. The Bravehearts got a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth on a solo home run and RBI triple.
Monster Performances
Sean Matson (W) 6 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
Tommy Hawke 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Gio Cueto 3-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI
Monster Highlights
* Jordan Kelly and Cooper Kelly both had 2 hits for Vermont, which outhit Worcester 11-7
* Will Parkinson (Columbia) and Silas Reed (Tufts) each tossed 1 scoreless inning in relief of Matson
* Matson’s 62 strikeouts are 2nd only to Patrick Harrington 77 K’s in 2021 for most by VT pitcher in FCBL season
Beyond The Boxscore
* Vermont (31-12) has won 5 of its last 6 games to move 19 games over .500 for the 1st time this season (18 over 4 times)
* Lake Monsters continue to lead 2nd-place Nashua (23-18) by 7 games with 20 scheduled games remaining
* Vermont is now 61-18 (.772) in FCBL regular-season since July 1, 2021
Next Game: Friday at Worcester, 6:30pm
Next Home Game: July 21st vs. Westfield, 6:35pm