Saturday
05Sep2009
Vermont Lake Monsters Pitching Gets Them Past the Staten Island Yankees 5-2
Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 02:35AM MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-STATEN ISLAND, NY --- Sandy Leon belted a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, while three Lake Monster pitchers combined to allow just two runs on four hits as Vermont beat the Staten Island Yankees 5-2 in New York-Penn League action Friday night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
The win snapped a season-long six-game losing streak for the Lake Monsters, while the loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Yankees. Staten Island, who has clinched a playoff spot, remains 1 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn for first-place in the McNamara Division with two games remaining.
After Sean Nicol led off the game with a walk and Justin Bloxom followed with a single, Leon lined a two-out homer to rightfield to give Vermont a quick 3-0 lead. The home run was the first homer for the Lake Monsters since August 26th and was also the first three-run homer of the season for Vermont.
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Starter Matt Swynenberg (2-2) took the lead he was given and was able to keep it as he allowed one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts over five innings for the win. The only run he allowed came in the fourth inning on a Kyle Higashioka RBI double.
Vermont added two insurance runs in the seventh inning on a J.J. Sferra RBI single and a Nicol RBI forceout. Sferra was 3-for-4 on the night, while Ronnie LaBrie was 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Gary Amato came on in relief of Swynenberg in the sixth inning and gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts in three innings, while Dean Weaver tossed a perfect ninth inning for his second save.
Higashioka was 2-for-4 with a run scored and the RBI double, while starter Caleb Cotham allowed three runs on three hits over three innings to take the loss for a Staten Island (46-28) team that lost for the first time since 23rd.
The Lake Monsters are now 19-17 on the road, clinching at least a .500 road record for the season. Vermont (33-40) have two games left in the 2009 season with a 7:00 pm contest on Saturday and 2:00 pm finale on Sunday at Staten Island.
The win snapped a season-long six-game losing streak for the Lake Monsters, while the loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Yankees. Staten Island, who has clinched a playoff spot, remains 1 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn for first-place in the McNamara Division with two games remaining.
After Sean Nicol led off the game with a walk and Justin Bloxom followed with a single, Leon lined a two-out homer to rightfield to give Vermont a quick 3-0 lead. The home run was the first homer for the Lake Monsters since August 26th and was also the first three-run homer of the season for Vermont.
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Starter Matt Swynenberg (2-2) took the lead he was given and was able to keep it as he allowed one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts over five innings for the win. The only run he allowed came in the fourth inning on a Kyle Higashioka RBI double.
Vermont added two insurance runs in the seventh inning on a J.J. Sferra RBI single and a Nicol RBI forceout. Sferra was 3-for-4 on the night, while Ronnie LaBrie was 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Gary Amato came on in relief of Swynenberg in the sixth inning and gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts in three innings, while Dean Weaver tossed a perfect ninth inning for his second save.
Higashioka was 2-for-4 with a run scored and the RBI double, while starter Caleb Cotham allowed three runs on three hits over three innings to take the loss for a Staten Island (46-28) team that lost for the first time since 23rd.
The Lake Monsters are now 19-17 on the road, clinching at least a .500 road record for the season. Vermont (33-40) have two games left in the 2009 season with a 7:00 pm contest on Saturday and 2:00 pm finale on Sunday at Staten Island.
Box Score
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