Cyclones 8
Vermont 6
Aug. 28 in Vermont
Brooklyn took advantage of Vermont’s sloppy defense and poor command of the strike zone on Tuesday, getting an early lead and then holding on to salvage the final game of a three-game set against the Lake Monsters.
And they did it all without a hit from All-Star first baseman Ross Adolph.
Still, Adolph scored the Clones’s first run when he reached base on a dropped third strike, stole second, move to third on a ground out, and came home on a Walter “Rabbi” Rasquin sacrifice fly.
Brian Sharp smacked a solo shot in the second to make it 2–0 Clones before a four-run, walk–heavy rally in the third. Dylan Tice reached on an error and came around to score the easy way when Lake Monster pitcher Dick Morban walked three hitters in a row. Out went Morban and in came Reid Birlingmair, who walked Chandler Avant, sending home Rasquin. Hayden Senger then drove in Jose Miguel Medina and Wagner “College” Lagrange with a single up the middle, putting the Clones up 6–0.
Brooklyn tacked on one in the fourth and another in the eighth.
But Vermont didn’t die easy, scoring three in the third, one in the sixth, and two in the ninth. The New England team had the winning run at the plate in the final frame, but catcher Nick Meyer got the Clones out of a jam when he threw out Noah Vaughan trying to steal second, and ended the game.
Tylor Megill pitched five innings of three-run ball and Joshua Walker gave up three runs in three-plus innings, failing to get an out in the ninth and leaving with runners at first and second. Both came around to score as Billy Oxford only recorded one out before Ryley Gilliam came in to close the door.
With the win, Brooklyn maintains its lead in the race for the lone Wild Card spot at 37–32, half a game ahead of the Auburn Doubledays and a full game ahead of the hated Staten Island Yankees. Even .500 teams like the Lake Monsters and Aberdeen Iron Birds still have a shot, sitting just two-and-a-half games back.
Our boys return home tonight to start a three-game set against a tough Hudson Valley squad at 7 pm, so head on out to MCU when the sun goes down and the breeze off the bay feels like an air conditioner set to 65 degrees.
