Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters
BURLINGTON — The first inning was the difference in both games of the doubleheader on Wednesday at historic Centennial Field as the Hudson Valley Renegades scored four runs in the top of the first of game one and went on to a 6-2 victory, while the Vermont Lake Monsters scored three times in the bottom of the first of game two and held on for a 3-2 win to split the New York-Penn League doubleheader.
Skye Bolt, who was 3-for-3 with a solo homer in game one, started off the Vermont game two first-inning rally with a walk and scored on a Richie Martin RBI triple to rightcenter. Trace Loehr then brought Martin home with a sacrifice fly to rightfield on an 0-2 pitch and Seth Brown followed with a line drive solo homer to right for a quick 3-0 Lake Monsters lead.
Hudson Valley chipped away with single runs in the third and sixth innings, but Lake Monsters reliever James Naile struckout a pair in a scoreless seventh inning for his fifth save. Vermont starter Kevin Ferreras allowed one run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts in four innings, while Tyler Painton (2-1) one unearned run on two hits over two innings for the win. Renegades starter John Williams (1-1) settled down after the first inning to allow just one more hit over four innings of work for the loss.
In the opener, Hudson Valley for four runs on four hits and a walk off of starter Dustin Driver in the top of the first including a Matt Dacey RBI single and Taylor Hawkins two-run double. Vermont got a run back in the second on Chris Iriart and Brett Siddall back-to-back doubles before the Renegades added single runs in the fourth and fifth.
Bolt’s home run in the seventh inning of game one was his fourth of the season, tying him with three other Lake Monsters for the team lead. Hawkins was 2-for-3 with a run scored and the two-run double for Hudson Valley (37-34), while starter Roel Ramirez (4-3) allowed one run on six hits over five innings to earn the victory.
Vermont (30-40) will host the Renegades in their final two home games of the season on Thursday and Friday starting at 7:05 pm. Both games will be heard on AM 960 the Zone. The Lake Monsters will then wrap up the 2015 season at Lowell with a three-game series against the Spinners.