Baseball: Tri-City tops Vermont 8-5 in 10

Posted on , updated on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters

BURLINGTON — Kory Lee went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI as the Tri-City ValleyCats scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning for an 8-5 New York-Penn League victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters Saturday night at historic Centennial Field.

With the placed runner at second to start extra innings, Lee lined a single to third moving the runner to third. Zach Biermann followed with a bad hop single past second baseman Michael Woodworth to give the ValleyCats the lead and Lee scored all the way from first on a fielder’s choice. Luis Santana (2-for-5) added a two-out RBI single for the 8-5 lead.

Earlier Vermont had scored 3 times without a base hit in the bottom of the second inning as Tri-City pitchers issued six walks in the inning. After back-to-back leadoff walks, starter Angel Macuare issued three straight one-out walks to force home two runs and reliever Daniel Cody came in to issue a bases loaded walk to make it 3-1.

Kory Lee had an RBI triple to right in the first inning to give Tri-City a quick 1-0 lead, then snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a two-out, two-run groundball single to center as the ValleyCats scored three unearned runs in the inning to take a 5-3 lead.

Kevin Richards tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with his third home run of the season, a 389-foot two-run homer over the billboards down the left-field line. The game stayed tied at five until the 10th inning, Vermont’s first extra-inning home game of the season.

Valente Bellozo (3-0) allowed one hit with one walk and three strikeouts over three scoreless innings of relief to earn the win, while Jeferson Mejia (0-2) was charged with the three runs in the 10th to take the loss. Jorge Martinez also tossed two scoreless innings for the Lake Monsters, while Jordan Diaz had two walks and scored twice.

Vermont and Tri-City will play the second of the three-game series on Sunday starting at 5:05 pm and the first 1,000 fans in the ballpark will receive a free Lake Monsters hockey jersey, while all fans can enjoy “Have A Catch” on the field post-game.