Spinners Grind to a Halt in Game One Loss, 5-2
Lowell fell two games behind Stedler Division leader Vermont with their first loss since Sunday.
Vermont (17-15), for the second night in a row, opened the scoring in the second inning as rightfielder Xavier Macklin singled and advanced to second on an error by Keury De La Cruz. After he was advanced to third on a bunt, he raced home when Tim Roberson could not handle a pitch from Lowell starter Nefi Ogando.
De La Cruz tied the game for Lowell (16-18) in the third inning with his third homerun of the season, a blast over the right field wall, and then Vermont starter J.C. Menna could not find the plate, walking four Spinners sandwiched around a strikeout to score Jason Thompson, who had reached via walk after De La Cruz's homerun.
Vermont tied the game in the home half of the third on a single by shortstop Sean Jamieson, who stole second and then scored on a wild pitch by Ogando that was lost in the backstop by Roberson. The Lake Monsters added two more runs in the inning to take the lead on back to back doubles by Chad Lewis and Macklin.
Vermont added a run in the fourth on an RBI single to complete the scoring.
Ogando (1-4, 3.14) was relieved in the fourth inning by Matty Ott, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam to prevent the game from getting out of hand. Ott finished the game with two and a third innings of scoreless relief, striking out three.
De La Cruz's third inning homerun was the team's only hit, as the team went down swinging, striking out ten times against Lake Monster pitching.
Madison Younginer (0-2, 2.52) is slated to start Game Two of the doubleheader, scheduled to begin 30 minutes after the completion of Game One.