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| Fairfield's Troy Scocca sealed the win for Vermont by drawing a bases-loaded walk. |
After rallying to tie it at six-all in the bottom of the eighth, a two-base error allowed Vermont’s Trevor Ezell to reach second. Ryan Fineman drew a walk, and soon Vermont loaded them up with two outs for Scocca.
The count ran full, and a energized crowd willed Westerners reliever Daniel Jagiello to miss outside.
“The crowd was huge tonight,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “This is what’s fun about playing in Vermont. You’ve got these people staying through the ninth inning, cheering us on, and they’ll be here all summer. They were huge at the end of this.”
Scocca hesitated coming out of the batters box, unsure if he needed to touch first or not.
“It’s never happened to me before,” Scocca said. “I didn’t know I had to touch first or not, so it’s a good thing coach Brown pointed me that way.”
When Scocca touched the base, water was dumped on him as the Mountaineers rushed out, celebrating the ending of a losing streak in what has been a slow start to the season. Vermont manager Joe Brown, however, isn’t worried.
“This was fun, and that’s what winning is,” he said afterwards. “This is far from over. I’m not worried about wins or losses. Play how you play, and people will start to take notice. We have good arms.”
The game had wild swings in momentum. Giovanni Dingcong fueled Danbury to a three-run first by driving a two-run double into the right-center gap against Mountaineers starter Davis Feldman, but Vermont chipped away. Newcomer Trevor Ezell scored from second on an errant throw to make it a three-run game, and the Mountaineers rallied in the fifth.
Danbury starter Dylan Stock couldn’t hold on to the early 4-1 lead, issuing four walks and giving up three runs in four innings. He was chased in the fifth inning without recording an out. The go-ahead double at the time came from Slade Heggen against left-hander Justin Synder, capping a four-run fifth for the Mountaineers against three different pitchers. Mikael Mogues had a two-run single and Ryan Fineman drove in a run with a groundout in the fifth as well.
Feldman was roughed up for three runs, two earned, in the first inning. However, he quickly settled down, retiring 10 of the next 11 Westerners he faced. Danbury tacked on a run in the fourth via a first-and-third play that caught the Mountaineers sleeping, but Feldman recovered and set down six straight. Protecting a slim one-run lead, his defense let him down in the seventh.
After issuing a leadoff walk, Danbury shortstop Coco Montes dropped a single into center, where Joe Tietjen misplayed it. Runners ended on first and third, and Tyler Panno grounded a ball towards Mogues at first. Mogues charged it, but it slipped under his glove to bring in the game-tying run. The Westerners took the lead back and chased Feldman with the next batter, as Nanno Santorelli laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, even beating the throw.
Feldman allowed six runs, five earned over six innings. He issued a lone walk while striking out seven.
“You have to understand he hasn’t pitched in nine days,” Brown said. “He settled down. I’ve been nice and starting a lot of guys, but we’re going to start putting out a rotation that’s going to get the job done.”
Vermont showed resilience, however. Down one in the eighth, Tietjen redeemed himself with a one-out single. Mogues, one of the hottest hitters in the NECBL, capped a 2-for-4 night with a RBI double to the gap in deep right-center. He was thrown out trying to score on a groundout later in the inning, but it ultimately didn’t matter.
Danbury attempted to rally against reliever Chandler Sedat, but he showcased his ability as an escape artist. He escaped a pair of bases-loaded jams and struck out four in three innings of work, earning the win.
Jagiello took the loss for Danbury, who’ve dropped two straight.
Vermont improved to 3-11. They’re on the road tomorrow, facing North Adams for the second time in three days.
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