BURLINGTON, VT — Kyle Wolff hit a go ahead two-run homer with one out in the top of the ninth inning as the Nashua Silver Knights rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters to win the 2022 Futures League Championship Friday night in front of a crowd of 2,937 at historic Centennial Field.
Vermont had taken a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a Connor Bowman (Tufts) two-out bases loaded two-run groundball single to left field. Lake Monsters held that one-run lead until one out in the ninth when Jack McDermott doubled an Wolff followed with the two-run homer to left on the first pitch.
Lake Monsters loaded the bases in bottom of ninth with back-to-back one-out singles and an intentional walk after a stolen base, but Jimmy Evans (Tufts) popped out to short on the first pitch and Brian Schuab (Trinity) flied out to right to end the game. It was just the third time this season that Vermont has lost when leading after eight innings.
After Nashua had taken a 1-0 lead in the second, Schuab smacked a two-out, three-run double to center field for a 3-1 Lake Monsters advantage. The Silver Knights cut the deficit to 3-2 wth a run in the fourth and took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on a McDermott two-run homer to right off Vermont starter Ian Parent (CVU/Endicott).
Monster Performances
Silas Reed 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO
Brian Schuab 1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Connor Bowman 1-for-4, 2 RBI
Monster Highlights
* Tommy Martin (Yale) and Cooper Kelly (Kansas) both had 2 hits (Nashua outhit Vermont 10-7)
* Parent allowed 4 runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeout over 4+ innings
* Wyatt Cameron (Middlebury HS/NE College) retired first 6 batters he faced before the 9th-inning double/home run
* Vermont, which hit .326 with the bases loaded during the regular season, got a 3-run double and 2-run double with
bases loaded before final 2 outs of game with bases full.
Beyond The Boxscore
* Vermont now 3-3 in Futures League championship games and 7-3 in FCBL playoffs games past 2 years
* Including regular-Season and playoffs, Lake Monsters finish 47-21 overall (but just 6-10 in 1-run games)
* Vermont’s other 2 losses when leading after 8 innings were season opener and season finale
* 12th time in 21 total losses that Lake Monsters have lost game in which they led at some point
* Vermont finishes the season with 30-8 record at Centennial Field (had won 12 of previous 13 games)