NASHUA, NH — Jack Winnay hit a two-run homer and Kyle Lodise added a two-run double, while Thomas Santana allowed one run over four innings in his second start of the season as the Vermont Lake Monsters clinched their third straight Futures League playoff spot with a 6-4 victory over the Nashua Silver Knights Wednesday night at Holman Stadium.
Coupled with a Worcester (36-22) doubleheader split and Norwich (35-21) twinbill sweep, Vermont (35-21) is in a virtual tie with the Bravehearts and Sea Unicorns for first-place with four days remaining in the FCBL regular-season.
After a one-out walk in the first inning, Winnay (Wake Forest) launched his second home run of the season out to left to give Vermont a quick 2-0 lead. Lodise (Augusta) made it 4-1 in the fourth with a two-out RBI double to center.
The Lake Monsters added two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles from Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) and Kyle McCausland (Middlebury) for a 6-1 advantage. Santana (Columbia) gave up a one-out RBI single in third, but escaped further damage on a 6-4-3 double play with runners on the corners to keep score 2-1 at that point.
The Silver Knights did get a single run in the sixth before a double and two singles plated another run in the eighth to bring the tying run to plate, but Sean Gamble came in to get 6-3 double play to end the inning and then tossed 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Santana 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
- Gamble (S) 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
- Lodise 2-for-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Vermont is only FCBL team to clinch playoff spot in each of last 3 seasons
- Newcomer Matt Hirsch (Tufts) made his Lake Monsters debut, tossing a 1-2-3 5th inning before a walk and RBI single in the 6th to earn the victory
- Ethan Mishra (Tulane) 1 run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts in 1.2 innings
- McCausland 2-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI, while Jordan Kang (Harvard) 2 runs scored
- Lake Monsters 25-6 when scoring 1st, 26-2 when outhit opponents and 29-5 when scoring 5 or more runs
DOWN THE STRETCH
- Vermont and Worcester scheduled to play single games Thursday/Friday at Centennial and 2 games (including suspended game) Saturday at Worcester, while Norwich hosts Brockton Thursday, at New Britain Friday and hosts Nashua Saturday).
- Regular-season season ends Sunday with Vermont at Nashua, Worcester at Pittsfield and Norwich at Westfield (doubleheader)
Next Game: Thursday, 7:05pm vs. Worcester (Live on NESN), “Summer of Love” Night!