Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters
LOWELL, MA — Vermont scored four runs in the top of the seventh, capped by a Jonah Bride two-out, two-run double, to give the Lake Monsters a 4-0 victory over the Lowell Spinners in a scheduled seven-inning New York-Penn League game Thursday night at LeLecheur Park after Vermont had earlier won completion of a suspended game from August 7th 7-3.
Nick Osborne led off the seventh with a single and J.J. Schwarz followed with a walk. Osborne then scored the game’s first run when he scored from second on a throwing error by third baseman Jonathan Ortega. After a strikeout and intentional walk loaded the bases, Schwarz scored when Marcos Brito beat out a potential inning-ending double play at first base.
Jonah Bride, who had earlier doubled with one out in the third, made it 4-0 with a two-out, two-run double to center.
Reliever Jeferson Mejia (2-1), who had entered in the bottom of the fifth, retired all nine batters he faced to close out the game and earn the victory.
Vermont starter Chase Cohen scattered three hits with no walks and six strikeouts over the first four innings, combining with Mejia on the Lake Monsters sixth shutout victory of the season. Two of Vermont’s six shutouts have come in scheduled seven-inning games following the completion of a suspended game (1-0 win vs. Connecticut June 19th).
Bride, Brito and Osborne each had two of the Lake Monsters six hits in the game. Combined with the victory earlier in the night of the suspended game, Vermont (31-34) has now won four of its last six decisions after a seven-game losing streak.
The Lake Monsters and Spinners will play single games at Lowell Friday at 6:35 pm and Saturday at 5:35 pm before Vermont returns to historic Centennial Field for a three-game series against Brooklyn starting on Sunday.
LOWELL, MA — Behind the pitching of Chris Kohler, the Vermont Lake Monsters won the completion of a suspended game from August 7th with a 7-3 victory over the Lowell Spinners Thursday at LeLecheur Park. The two New York-Penn League teams followed with the night’s scheduled contest.
The Lake Monsters had taken a 4-0 lead back with four runs in the top of the first inning back on August 7th. After Alfonso Rivas doubled and Jonah Bride reached on an error, Jeremy Eierman scored them both with a two-run double and Nick Osborne followed with a two-run homer.
Lowell got a run back in the bottom of the first off Vermont starter Adam Reuss, who allowed one run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts over three innings before the game was halted by rain in the top of the fourth wit Vermont leading 4-1.
With at least 13 innings scheduled for Thursday night and a bullpen shortened by two recent promotions, Kohler (3-2) took over on the mound for Vermont in the bottom of the fourth and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with one strikeout over five innings to earn the victory.
The two runs Kohler allowed came off the bat of Grant Williams, an RBI double in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh to cut the Spinners deficit to 4-3. Vermont got the runs back in the eighth as Anthony Churlin, who entered the game in the top of the fifth after Rivas left game after fouling a pitch off his foot, led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch.
Eierman then singled, stole second and scored on an Aaron Arruda two-out RBI single for a 6-3 Lake Monsters lead. Vermont added another run in ninth as Devin Foyle walked, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scord on a wild pitch.
Eierman went 2-for-4 with two runs and the two-run double, while Aaron Arruda was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and an RBI for Vermont (30-34). Williams was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored to go along with his two RBI base hits, while starter Jose Rodriguez (0-1) four runs (three earned) on four hits over 3 2/3 innings to take loss for Lowell (33-30).