Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters
BURLINGTON — The Aberdeen Ironbirds snapped a 3-3 tie with four runs on three consective run-scoring base hits in the top of the seventh inning and went on to beat the Vermont Lake Monsters 9-4 in New York-Penn League action Wednesday night at historic Centennial Field.
Vermont reliever Caleb Evans (0-1) started the seventh with back-to-back walks and loaded the bases with a one-out hit batter. J.C. Escarra and Cody Roberts followed with back-to-back RBI singles before Robert Neustom capped off the four-run inning with a two-run single to right for the 7-3 lead.
Jean Carmona added a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning to score two runners who had reached on back-to-back one-out walks. Six of the nine Aberdeen runs in the game were scored by a runner who reached on a walk, hit by pitch or by error.
The game was 3-3 after six innings as each team scored three single runs in a different frame. Aberdeen took 1-0 lead in first with an unearned run as Adam Hall reached on an error by second baseman Marcos Brito, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on another error.
Vermont scored single runs in the second and third innings for a 2-1 lead. Jeremy Eierman led off the second with a walk and moved to third on a Jonah Bride single before scoring on a Nick Osborne RBI forceout to short, In the third after a two-out error and Brito stolen base, Alfonso Rivas delivered an RBI single to leftcenter giving the Lake Monsters the lead.
The Ironbirds responded with single runs of their own in the fourth and fifth to retake the lead at 3-2. Robert Neustrom led off the fourth with a single and scored when Willy Yahn followed with a groundball double down the rightfield line, then scored an unearned run in the fifth on a J.C. Escarra RBI groundout.
The Lake Monsters then tied the game 3-3 in the sixth on a Jose Rivas two-out RBI single to right field scoring Bride. Noah Vaughan followed with a line drive double to rightfield, but Rivas was out at the plate to end the game and keep the game tied
Ironbirds starter Hector Guance struckout 10 Lake Monsters over his six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks. Reliever Nick Vichio went the final three innings, allowing a Joseph Pena triple and Brito RBI single in the ninth along with five strikeouts. For the three-game series, Aberdeen hurlers walked just four Lake Monsters while striking out 37.
Lake Monsters starter Reid Birlingmair two runs (one earned) on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings, while Illinois-Chicago teammate Charlie Cerny one unearned run on one hits with one strikeout in 2 2/3 innings. Brito was 3-for-5 with one run, one triple and an RBI, while Jose Rivas was 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Vermont (29-34) heads to Lowell on Thursday to complete a suspended game from August 7th (Lake Monsters led 4-1 after three innings). The Lake Monsters and Spinners will then play a seven-inning game afterwards, then single games on Friday and Saturday before Vermont returns home for a three-game series with Brooklyn starting Sunday.