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| Hariston connects during a five-RBI day. /VTM Photo |
Hariston’s three-run drive into the left field parking lot came in his first at bat of the summer for the Mountaineers (5-3), and he added a two-run double that skipped off the warning track in right-center.
“I was just trying to put a ball in play because we had runners on,” Hariston said of his first at bat. “I worked a 3-2 count and he threw me a fastball I could hit. The next one was another situation where I was just trying to move the runner.”
A late arrival, the Louisville product was busy finishing off a run into the super regionals with the Cardinals. He enjoyed a stellar regional, going 5-for-10 and was named the most outstanding player.
“I was just trying to keep the same approach I had during the regional,” Hariston said. “It’s a different game swinging wood bats so I was just trying to keep the same approach that helped me be sucessful.”
He powered an explosive Mountaineers offense that racked up 14 hits, four for extra bases.
“I thought that after two days off the guys had good plate discipline,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “We found some gaps tonight which was fun. We were aggressive on the basepaths.”
After opening up an early 4-1 lead, Vermont sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth against against Danbury reliever Alex Person. Four of the six runs they put up came with two outs after a costly throwing error prolonged the inning.
Person was only charged with two earned runs, coming off of a Austin Cangelosi triple into right center and the other on a wild pitch. Cangelosi’s was a shot that had Danbury center fielder Joey Bartosic sprinting back off the bat.
It went downhill from there for the Westerners, as a routine throw from short that would’ve been the third out of the inning sailed wide to bring home a run. Hariston followed with a two-run double and Austin Clemons added a pinch-hit RBI single.
Danbury’s lone run came off a sacrifice fly by 2014 Mountaineer Trey West in the second. It was the lone run charged to Vermont starter Tim Knesnik, who went four innings in his first start of the season. He gave up three hits and issued a pair of walks, but struck out three.
Knesnik’s biggest out came in the second, as he got leadoff hitter Joey Bartosic, who entered with an eight-game hitting streak, to ground out to second with the bases loaded. He turned it over to Vermont’s bullpen, and they were lights out.
Three different relievers combined to hold Danbury to a lone hit over the final five innings, with all three making their summer debuts. Taylor Durand (1-0) retired all six batters he faced, Sean Leland worked around a walk for a quick inning and Colton Davis touched 90 on the gun while striking out three over two innings.
“Tim (Knesnik) hasn’t thrown in a while and he gave us four quality innings,” Brown continued. “All three of those guys just got here and we needed them to pitch to set them up, and that was special to see that.”
The Mountaineers bullpen now has a 1.50 ERA over 30 innings of work to open the year. They’re averaging more than a strikeout per inning and haven’t allowed an earned run over their last 13 innings.
Chris Morris (0-1) went 3 2/3 innings to take the loss for the Westerners. He struck out four while walking a pair and was charged with four runs.
Hariston’s three-run shot in the second turned an early 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead, and Morris let up another run on a wild pitch in the fourth.
Vermont’s lineup featured four newcomers, headlined by Hariston. Returnee Jack Parenty went 2-for-4 in his debut, while Riley Jackson reached base four times and Pat Madigan added a single and a run scored. Mainstay Thomas Roulis, who has played in every game this year, pushed his hit streak to a league-best eight games.
“You’re a little nervous with that, simply because they haven’t hit in awhile,” Brown said of the newcomers. “You could see that in there first at bats, except for Devin. Riley Jackson had a couple great at-bats, and as they get more at bats, they’re going to get more locked in.”
The win wrapped up a wet stretch of games for the Mountaineers, who had back-to-back games postponed to start the week. They extended their winning streak to three games and took over first place entering a two-game road trip. They travel to face Northern division foe North Adams today.
“We split some guys today and used two catchers,” Brown said of his strategy for the lengthy week ahead. “We just wanted to keep them fresh and manage it. All the pitchers who threw are staying behind to get there workouts in, we set our pitching up.”
Danbury remained winless on the season through their first nine games.
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