Vermont Rallies Down 8-0 For 9-8 Win Wednesday

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WESTFIELD, MA --- The Lake Monsters rallied for their largest come-from-behind victory since 2007 as Vermont turned an 8-0 deficit into a 9-8 victory over the Westfield Starfires Wednesday night at Bullens Field and clinched a spot in the upcoming Futures League playoffs.

Trailing by eight after four innings, Vermont got a Kyle Hoog (Northeastern) sacrifice fly in the fifth and a two-run homer in the sixth from Jimmy Evans (Tufts). Lake Monsters had a chance to cut into the 8-3 deficit in the seventh, but Ethan Anderson’s (Virginia) bid for his third grand slam in the last 19 games came up just short in leftcenter for the final out of the inning.

But the Lake Monsters would cut into the deficit and more in the eighth, scoring six runs in the inning for the 9-8 lead. Evans and Andrew Bergeron (Georgetown) got the rally started with one-out walks before Chris Brown (UConn) plated Evans with a two-out single to center. Back-to-back walks to Jack Pirkl (Babson) and Justin Rubin (Virginia) made it 8-5.

Former BFA-St. Albans star Colby Brouillette (Clarkson), who had entered game with a pinch-hit single in the seventh for his first Vermont hit, followed with a groundball two-run single to right to get the Lake Monsters within a run. After a Anderson hit by pitch reloaded the bases, Brian Schuab (Trinity) walked on a 3-2 pitch tying the game and pinch runner Francis Ferguson (Eastern Nazarene) then scored go ahead run on a wild pitch.

Chris Clark (Harvard) recorded two groundouts and a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Will Hesslink (Boston College) two strikeouts and Isaiah Rhodes (Southern Miss) a groundout in the ninth to seal Vermont’s biggest come-from-behind victory since July 20, 2007 when the Lake Monsters rallied from 10-1 deficit with four-run seventh, five-run eighth and Robbie Tolan 2-run walkoff homer for 12-10 win over Hudson Valley.

Brouillette and Rubin both had two hits for Vermont, while Anderson (who earlier in day was named FCBL hitter of month for July) had a double to extend his hitting streak to 14 straight. Along with Clark, Hesslink and Rhodes over the final two innings, Lake Monsters relievers allowed just two hits over final five innings with Porter Jordheim (Harvard) two scoreless innings and Chase Carey (UMass-Dartmouth) scoreless seventh to earn the win.

Vermont (37-21), winners in 25 of its last 28 games, head to Pittsfield for a 6:30pm game Thursday against the Suns, who the Lake Monsters lead by 3.5 games for first-place in the FCBL standings (Brockton now 4.0 games behind in third).