Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters

Wappingers Falls, NY — Three Vermont errors in the bottom of the seventh inning led to eight unearned runs and three Hudson Valley pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout in a Renegades 9-0 New York-Penn League victory over the Lake Monsters Saturday night at Dutchess Stadium.

With game scoreless, the Renegades had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh when David Parrett hit a chopper back to the mound for the potential final out of the inning, but reliever Chris Kohler underhanded a one-hopper that first basesman Alfonso Rivas was unable to control to keep the inning alive for Hudson Valley.

Garrett Giovannelli followed with a two-run double for the first two runs of the game and added another run when
second baseman Marcos Brito couldn’t handle a groundball for a run-scoring error. Kohler (1-2) then walked Justin Bridgman to force home another run and Brito’s second fielding error of the inning plated the fifth run.

Chris Betts made it an eight-run inning with a three-run double into short leftfield that was fielded by shortstop Jermey Eierman, who threw Betts going back into second base. It was the first eight-run inning against the Lake Monsters since Connecticut put up an eight-spot in second inning on July 18, 2016.

Vermont had a two-out single in each of the first three innings, leaving five runners stranded (three in scoring position). But after Alfonso Rivas second hit of the game with two outs in the third, 15 straight Lake Monsters were retired in order and 18 of next 20 (baserunners on two-out error and hit batter in the eighth inning) before Jose Rivas two-out double in ninth.

With just four hits in the their third shutout loss of the season, the Lake Monsters are now hitting just .117 (21-for-180) with 10 runs scored over their last six games, dropping team batting average from .239 to .220 overall. In the previous six games, Vermont had hit .302 (67-for-222) with 37 runs scored.

Vermont starter Jhenderson Hurtado needed just 64 pitches (44 strikes) to get through six scoreless innings. The left-hander allowed four hits with one walk and six strikeouts and has now allowed just one run his last 15 1/3 innings of work to lower his ERA from 4.08 to 2.52 overall.

Renegades starter Blake Pflughaupt allowed three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts (four looking) over five scoreless innings. Tanner Dodson (1-0) two strikeouts in three hitless innings of relief to earn the win, while Trey Cumbie a scoreless ninth as Hudson Valley (22-12) recorded their league-leading eighth shutout of the season.

The Lake Monsters will look to salvage one win in the three-game series 5:05 pm Sunday at Hudson Valley. After an off day on Monday, Vermont (17-18) will open a six-game homestand at historic Centennial Field on Tuesday.