BROCKTON, MA — Justin Bosland went 4-for-5 with a run and RBI triple, while reliever James Nichols allowed just two runs over the final five innings as the Brockton Rox handed the Vermont Lake Monsters their third straight Futures League loss with an 8-6 victory Friday night at Campanelli Stadium.
Vermont had a 3-0 lead just four batters into the game after a leadoff walk and three straight hits, including a Jack Winnay (Wake Forest) RBI single and Jordan Kang (Harvard) two-run single. Lake Monsters took 4-1 lead in third on a walk and pair of singles, including Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) RBI single.
Brockton tied the game in third with three runs on four hits, including three straight RBI singles off Wyatt Cameron (Central Connecticut), who was making his first start of the season after having a league-best eight saves in 18 relief appearances. Rox then took 6-4 lead in fourth on a two-run single off Silas Reed (Tufts), who had retired the first two batters of the inning before a single and two walks loaded bases.
Two more runs in the bottom of seventh on an RBI single and an RBI triple from Bosland, his fourth straight hit of the game. Nichols came on in relief in the fifth inning and held Vermont to just one hit until the eighth when Vermont scored twice (but could have had more).
Trevor Cohen (Rutgers) opened the 8th with a single and scored on Barczi RBI double to right-center. Eric Becker (Virginia) followed with a double to left that appeared to score Barczi, but he was called out on appeal at third for missing the base. Jake Gaudreau (Bryant) did add a two-out RBI single to make the score 8-6.
The Lake Monsters got two runners on with one out in the ninth, but a flyout and forceout ended the game to drop Vermont (31-20) into a second-place tie with Norwich (31-20) 1.5 games behind first-place Worcester (34-20).
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Kang 3-for-4, BB, 2 RBI
- Winnay 2-for-4, HBP, 2 R, 1 RBI
- Edward Hart (Duke) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
- After 2 infield singles and walk, Hart worked out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the 6th inning with back-to-back strikeouts and flyout to keep deficit at 6-4
- After going 19-5 in month of June, Lake Monsters just 7-12 in July with 3 games left
- 5th loss this season when Vermont scored 5 or more runs (26-4)
- Lake Monsters offense 5 walks, 4 strikeouts (15th time more BB than SO in game)
- Vermont, Worcester and Norwich now all have 20 losses (Worcester 3 more wins)
Next Game: Saturday 5:05pm vs. Nashua at historic Centennial Field (doubleheader)
Resumption of 7/14 suspended 9-inning game (4-0 VT top 4th) followed by 7-inning game