Montpelier, VT - Rob Kelly hit a go ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Vermont a 3-2 lead as they would go on to defeat the Mystic Schooners 4-2 in New England Collegiate Baseball League action on Monday night. The win was Vermont's third in a row and clinched no worse than third place in the Western Division playoffs, set to begin Wednesday.
The scoring began in the bottom of the fourth inning when Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Saint Anslem) singled with one out and advanced on a past ball from catcher Joe Hudson. He would later come around to score on the first of two Johnny Mishu RBI doubles in the game. Starter Fred Shepard (Amherst, MA/Amherst) pitched four scoreless innings giving up just one hit before being lifted in favor of Cody Ege to start the fifth. Schooners starter Jackson Geary pitched six solid innings giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out seven batters.
Mystic would tie it up in the top of the fifth on Nick Ferraresi's RBI single to plate Brett Doran. The run, charged to Ege (Cherokee, IA/Louisville) was unearned as Doran advanced to second an error by catcher Jeff Cammans. In the home half of the inning, Brian O'Grady hit a double that looked to score Dan Kemp, but he was thrown out at home on a strong throw from left fielder Ferraresi. O'Grady (Warminster, PA/Rutgers) would score however as Jeff Cammans hit an RBI double to regain the lead at 2-1.
Ege would toss two scoreless innings in relief giving up the one unearned run on one hit. He would be replaced by Jacob Booden in the top of the seventh who set down the side in order. Then, in the top of the eighth, Simon Kudernatsch led off with his first homerun of the season to knot the ball game up at two a piece. The Mountaineers would respond in the bottom half when Doug Freeman (Lakeland, FL/King College) led off with a double before being pinch-run for by Spencer Jackson. Jackson (Aurora, CO/Washington State) would score on Kelly's RBI double off reliever Matt Doyle to take the lead back at 3-2. Kelly would then touch home as Mishu (Nashville, TN/Princeton) hit his second RBI double of the night.
Jerome Werniuk would come in the ninth and retire the side in order including two strikeouts to preserve the win. Booden (3-0) gets the win going two innings striking out four and giving up the one run. Doyle (0-3) is saddled with the loss giving up two runs in an inning and two thirds pitched while Werniuk (Toronto, Canada/LeMoyne) earned his first save of the season.
Vermont (26-15) finished the regular season in New Hampshire tomorrow August 2nd as they travel to Keene-Alumni Field to take on the Keene Swamp Bats at 6:30 p.m. If the Mountaineers win, they would move into second place in the division and earn the right to host Keene in the first round of the playoffs. A loss would put Keene as the number one seed and Vermont would travel to Holyoke as the third seed in the playoffs. You can hear all the action live on ESPN 1240, WSKI and online at www.thevermontmountaineers.com.
Game Notes: Johnny Mishu stole his 18th base of season in the fourth inning as he stole third.
