BURLINGTON, VT — Tommy Hawke went 4-for-5 with four stolen bases and four RBI, including a three-run homer as the Vermont Lake Monsters out slugged the Pittsfield Suns 14-13 in Futures League action Tuesday night in front of 4,007 fans at historic Centennial Field.
The Lake Monsters had leads of 12-5 and 13-7, but the Suns scored five runs in top of eighth including a Jack Ryan grand slam to cut the Vermont advantage to 13-12. A bases loaded run in the bottom of eighth restored a two-run lead, but Pittsfield got a leadoff homer in ninth and single before George Goldstein (Middlebury) got a strikeout, fly out and strikeout to preserve the one-run victory.
Colby Brouillette (BFA/Clarkson) got the Lake Monsters attack started with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to tie the game 2-2 before a Cam Conley (Pepperdine) double and Cooper Kelly RBI single gave Vermont the lead.
Lake Monsters then scored four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to build the 12-5 advantage. Gio Cueto (Wake Forest) had a two-run double in the fourth before scoring from second on a Hawke bunt single. The four runs in the fifth came on a Jackson Kline (Kansas) RBI double and Hawke’s three-run homer.
Monster Performances
Tommy Hawke 4-for-6, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB
Gio Cueto 2-for-4, 2 BB, 3 R, 2B, 3 RBI
Jackson Kline 2-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R, 2B, RBI
Monster Highlights
* All 9 Vermont starters had at least 1 hit thru the first 5 innings as the Lake Monsters outhit Pittsfield 17-13
* The teams combined for 5 home runs (3 Pittsfield, 2 Vermont) and Lake Monsters are now 14-1 when hitting a home run (5-0 when hitting 2), while 9-6 when their opponent homers
* Top 3 hitters in Vermont order (Hawke, Cueto, Kline) combined to go 8-for-14 with 4 walks, 7 runs and 8 RBI
* Jimmy Evans (Tufts), Tyler Favretto (Crowder) and Conley each had 2 hits, while Evans 2 RBI, Favretto and Conley 2 runs scored
Beyond The Boxscore
* Either Vermont or Pittsfield scored in each of the 9 innings played, including 7 runs in 5th and 6 runs in 8th
* The 27 combined runs were the most in a Lake Monsters game this season (13-12 loss at New Britiain 6/18)
* 10th time this season that Vermont has scored 10+ runs in a game
* The attendance of 4,007 was the largest since August 2016 and the 2nd largest since the start of the 2011 season
* Vermont (29-12) now leads 2nd-place Nashua (21-18) by 7 games and New Britain by 7 1/2 games for 1st-place
Next Game: Wednesday vs. Pittsfield, 6:35pm