NYPL Vermont Lake Monsters

Monsters plate seven in win

Published on August 26, 2008 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Vermont Lake Monsters News Release


BURLINGTON, VT ---Jake Dugger capped off a three-hit night with a two-run game-ending home run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Vermont Lake Monsters completed a three-game sweep of the Hudson Valley Renegades with a 7-5 New York-Penn League victory Tuesday night at historic Centennial Field.

After Derek Norris led off the ninth with his third walk of the game, Dugger smashed an 0-1 pitch from Jamie Bagley over the second row of advertising signs in right field for his third home run of the season and the Lake Monsters second game-ending homer of the year (Blake Stouffer on July 7th vs. Batavia). Dugger, who was 3-for-4 with two runs, a double and three RBI on Tuesday, finished the six-game homestand 10-for-21 with five runs, five doubles, a triple, homer and eight RBI.

Vermont, which had rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win the series opener 7-6 on Sunday, found themselves down 4-0 after the Renegades scored a run in the first and three more times in the fourth. Justin Reynolds had an RBI double for Hudson Valley in the fourth, while Mike Sheridan and Kyeong Kang added RBI singles.

The Lake Monsters started the comeback with a Dugger RBI double in the fourth to score Jake Smolinski, who had an RBI double himself in the fifth inning scoring Marcus Jones to cut the deficit to 4-2. Smolinski finished the night with four consecutive hits, including two doubles, after grounding out in the first.

Norris led off the sixth with a double, moved to third on a Dugger bunt single and scored on a Michael Guerrero sacrifice fly to get the Lake Monsters within one at 4-3. One out later, pinch hitter Chris Solis doubled down the left field line and Jones followed with a two-run single to center giving Vermont a 5-4 lead.

Hudson Valley rallied themselves in the seventh as Jason Tweedy singled with two outs and scored a triple down the right field line by Reynolds, who was 3-for-4 with a run, double, triple and two RBI. That would be the last base runner of the night for the Renegades as Steven Stewart (3-2) retired the final seven batters he faced for the win.

Jose Pinales made his first start of the season for Vermont in place of Patrick Arnold, who is making an emergency start for the Gulf Coast Nationals on Wednesday before returning to the Lake Monsters. Pinales allowed three runs on four hits in three innings, while David Slovak tossed three scoreless innings of relief. Counting six innings with no walks and six strikeouts by Slovak and Stewart on Tuesday, Vermont relievers over the last four games have no walks and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings of work.

The three-game sweep is the third of the season for the Lake Monsters and the first since Vermont swept back-to-back three-game series from Lowell and Tri-City June 26-July 1. The Lake Monsters have also won four of their last five games after losing six straight and 21 of previous 26.

Vermont (27-36) heads out on the road for an eight-game, seven-day roadtrip beginning on Wednesday night in Maryland against the Aberdeen Ironbirds. The Lake Monsters will return home for the final four games of the 2008 season September 3-6.

Check out the Vermont Lake Monsters Statistics

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New York-Penn League Stories from August 26, 2008


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