BURLINGTON, VT --- The Lowell Spinners scored two runs in each of the first three innings and went on to beat the Vermont Lake Monsters 6-1 in New York-Penn League action Sunday evening at LeLecheur Park.Throwing errors by Francisco Soriano and Ronnie LaBrie in the bottom of the first inning led to two unearned Lowell runs off Vermont starter Graham Hicks. Two walks, a single and a Chris McGuiness two-run single in the second inning gave Lowell a 4-0 lead.
The Spinners chased Hicks in the third inning after two more walks and three hits, including a Derrik Gibson two-run double. Hicks (2-4) gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits with five walks and two strikeouts in just 2 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Vermont got its only run of the game in the sixth inning on a Destin Hood one-out single, Jack Walker two-out infield single and J.R. Higley RBI single. Back in the third trailing just 4-0, the Lake Monsters had the bases loaded with one out before J.P. Ramirez grounded into an inning-ending double play. Sean Nicol also hit into a double play with two runner aboard to end the fifth inning.
Relievers Gary Amato and Federico Tanco combined on 5 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits allowed. Amato relieved Hicks and got out of a bases loaded one-out jam without a run scoring in the third, then gave up one hit over three more shutout innings. Tanco allowed two hits in two scoreless innings.
Higley, Walker and Soriano each had three hits for Vermont, while Gibson was 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI for the Spinners. Starter Kason Gabbard (1-1) allowed four hits with three walks and five strikeouts over five innings for the win, while Cesar Cabral one unearned run over four innings to pick up his first save for Lowell (23-20).
Vermont (21-22) will wrap up the four-game series with the Spinners on Monday night at Lowell before heading to central New York for a three-game series with the Auburn Doubledays. The Lake Monsters return home to historic Centennial Field on Friday to begin a three-game series with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
• Discuss this story on the New York-Penn League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us
Tweet
New York-Penn League Stories from August 2, 2009
• Renegades Fall to the Brooklyn Cyclones, 5-3, After 1:42 Rain Delay - Hudson Valley Renegades• Jammers' Big Inning Dooms Spikes - State College Spikes
• Lowell Defeats Vermont - Vermont Lake Monsters
• Spikes Game Notes for August 2 - State College Spikes
• IronBirds Game Notes for August 2 - Aberdeen IronBirds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
