Lake Monsters Come Back to Beat CT Tigers, 7-5

NORWICH, Ct. - The Connecticut Tigers (14-15) jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Sunday afternoon at Dodd Stadium but the Vermont Lake Monsters (15-14) hit back with seven unanswered runs to hand the Tigers a 7-5 loss that dropped Connecticut out of a three-way tie for second place in the New York-Penn League Stedler Division.  

Tigers left fielder Eric De La Rosa opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run single to left field that scored Reece Hampton and Jeremiah Burks. The next batter, Luke Sherley, added to the onslaught against Vermont starter Adam Reuss with an RBI single to right and Ulrich Bojarski made it 4-0 on an infield single that allowed the speedy De La Rosa to score from second. 

In the second inning, Connecticut catcher Gresuan Silverio added an RBI double to make it 5-0 but Reuss rebounded to retire the next eight batters in a row and allowed two hits through his remaining 3 2/3 innings. 

Vermont rallied with three runs in the third against Connecticut starter Jose Vasquez, who walked in a run with the bases loaded. Lake Monsters right fielder Noah Vaughan drove in a pair with his double down the right-field line in the third. Vasquez took the no-decision after tossing four innings with four earned runs on eight hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.

After scoring one run in the fifth and another in the sixth, the Lake Monsters took their first lead with two runs in the seventh against Arvicent Perez (Loss, 0-1). The converted Double-A catcher allowed his first runs as a professional pitcher on an RBI triple by Vaughan and a sacrifice bunt by Robert Mullen to give Vermont a 7-5 advantage.

Tigers reliever Dylan Stock threw two hitless innings but the Tigers notched only two base hits against Vermont relievers. Hampton stepped to the plate as the tying run in the ninth but lined into an unassisted double play at first base to derail a second ninth-inning rally in two days.  

The Tigers blew their largest lead of the season by failing to protect a five-run advantage on Sunday.  Connecticut entered the day tied for second place in the four-team Stedler Division but fell into last place following wins by Vermont and the Lowell Spinners.

On Monday, the Tigers and Lake Monsters meet again in the rubber match of their three-game series at Dodd Stadium with right-handed starter Gio Arriera (1-2, 5.63) drawing the start against Vermont lefty Jhenderson Hurtado (2-2, 3.28). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Kids Eat Free Night courtesy of U.S. Foods. For the first time this season, each child's ticket (age 12 and under) comes with a voucher for a hot dog, bag of chips, bottle of water, and an apple.

The Connecticut Tigers are the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. Individual tickets for all 2018 home games, season memberships to "The Club," ticket mini-plans, and Tigers team merchandise are now on sale at Dodd Stadium, over the phone at 860-887-7962, and online at CTTigers.com.