Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters
BURLINGTON — Noah Vaughan went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI, while Devin Foyle 1-for-3 with a double and three runs scored to lead the Vermont Lake Monsters to an 8-3 New York-Penn League victory over the Williamsport Crosscutters Thursday night at historic Centennial Field
Lake Monsters scored single runs in the first and second innings, including a Vaughan line drive RBI triple into the rightfield corner scoring Foyle in the second for a 2-0 lead. Vermont doubled the advantage in the fourth with two more runs after a Foyle double put a pair of runners in scoring position in front of a Vaughan RBI single and run-scoring passed ball.
Vermont starter Brady Feigl tossed three hitless innings with two walks and two strikeouts. The fifth-round pick out of Mississippi has now given up just one hit over his last 11 2/3 innings and three runs on four hits in 17 2/3 innings of work in his six appearances overall.
The Crosscutters got a run back in the fifth on a Jesus Henriquez RBI double off reliever Adam Reuss (2-1), who allowed just the one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts over three innings.
The Lake Monsters used some small ball to get three insurance runs in the sixth. After Vaughan singled to right on an 0-2 pitch for his third hit of the night, he and Foyle at third base pulled off a double steal of home as Vaughan got caught in a rundown between first and second with Foyle beating a wild throw home.
Vaughan ended up on third on the play and scored on the next pitch as Joseph Pena laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt and advanced to third himself on another wild throw to first. Pena then scored on a Payton Squier RBI single to center for a 7-1 Lake Monsters advantage.
Varennes, Quebec-native Ben Pelletier smacked a two-run homer, his third of the season, in the top of the eighth inning for Williamsport, while Vermont got an unearned run in bottom eighth courtesy of the Crosscutters fifth error of the night. Starter Francisco Morales (3-2) was charged with four runs on four hits over four innings for the loss.
Pena (two runs) and Squier both had two hits and an RBI on the night for Vermont (18-21), which snapped a five-game losing streak with the victory.
The homestand continues for the Lake Monsters as they welcome the Batavia Muckdogs to Centennial for a three-game series starting 7:05 pm Friday. The first 500 fans into the ballpark will receive a free Lake Monsters Bucket Hat.