BURLINGTON, VT — After spotting Vermont an early 4-0 lead, the Worcester Bravehearts scored 12 unanswered runs in a 12-7 Futures League victory Thursday night at historic Centennial Field that extended the Lake Monsters losing streak to four straight.
Vermont, which had been held to three total runs in previous three games, scored four times in the bottom of the second on a pair of sacrifice flies, a Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) RBI double and a run-scoring passed ball.
The Bravehearts got a run in the fourth off Lake Monsters starter Patric Menk (Virginia), who gave up just the one run on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over four innings. But Worcester got to the Vermont bullpen with 4 runs in the fifth, three runs in sixth and four more runs in the seventh for a 12-4 advantage.
The Lake Monsters got a few runs back in the final two innings on a Barczi 2-run single in the eighth and a Colby Brouillette (BFA/Central Connecticut) RBI single in the ninth, but Worcester (27-9) closed out the game with a double play to extend their first-place lead over Vermont (24-12) to three games.
MONSTER PERFORMANCES
- Menk 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO
- Barczi 3-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI
- Dylan Knightley (Middlebury) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
MONSTER HIGHLIGHTS
- 1st Vermont 4-game losing streak since losing 5 straight June 16-20, 2021
- Most runs allowed since 13 in a 14-13 win vs. Pittsfield July 12, 2022
- Just 2nd time that Vermont has scored 3 runs or more in its 12 losses (10-9 loss May 27th to Pittsfield)
- Lake Monsters allowed 5 unearned runs (18 for season before Thursday) and the 3 errors in the game marked 1st time with more than 2 errors in last 20 games (June 11th)
- Brayden Howrigan (Danville/Castleton) 1 strikeout in 1-2-3 9th inning
Next Game: Friday at Nashua, 6:00pm
Next Home Game: Saturday vs. Westfield, 6:05pm