Game 17 Recap: Mountaineers 12, Swamp Bats 3

Old Dominion's Culver Lamb threw five shutout innings. /ODU

Culver Lamb threw five shutout innings and a pair of four-run innings were the recipe for victory Wednesday night, as the Mountaineers routed the Keene Swamp Bats, 12-3, at Recreation Field to secure their third win in their last four games.

Every batter in the Mountaineers (5-12) lineup reached base as they tallied double-digit hits and runs for the second straight game. Mike Osinski went 2-for-3 with three runs, Troy Scocca homered again while driving in a pair of runs, and Joe Tietjen extended his hitting streak to 10 with a two-hit, three-RBI night.

"Good hitters are hitting, and they're more then capable of that," Vermont manager Joe Brown said. "They're here because they can play, and we're hoping to keep it rolling."

Lamb stood at the forefront of the team effort, scattering three hits over five innings. He struck out seven in his second start of the summer for the Mountaineers, keeping his ERA a perfect zero through 15 innings of work. Lamb’s outing wasn't without issues, but he overcame allowing two base runners in both the third and fourth innings.

The Swamp Bats (11-6), entering on a three-game winning streak, were unable to convert when they had their chances against Lamb. Keene’s Jordan Howard led off the fourth with a double, but was throw out trying to steal third. The inning prior, Lamb struck out back-to-back batters to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.

Joey Benitez, Lamb’s teammate at Old Dominion this spring, was rolling through three scoreless frames before losing the shutout in the ninth. He gave up a one-out, two-run triple to Brandt Stallings that carried to the fence in left-center. Stallings came home on Ryan Costello’s ensuing sacrifice fly. However, Benitez ended any threat of a huge comeback by getting a game-ending fly out.

"They're going to do that," Brown said of his team's strong pitching. "We're going to get good starts, and we've figured out some roles. A lot of people are starters regularly, so I'm taking a more conservative approach. We're going to give people fresh arm starts."

The pitching was backed by a strong team defense and an even better day at the plate. A game removed from a 15-run outburst against New Bedford, Vermont’s lineup continued to see production up and down the lineup.

Trevor Ezell led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, and Tietjen doubled him in. Tietjen, who tripled twice in Monday’s game, added a pair of doubles to his impressive line to start the summer. Through 10  games, Tietjen has yet to fail to record a hit in a game and leads the team with eight extra-base hits.

"My thing this summer is to have fun and not worry," Tietjen said. "I have a lot of prep coming in -- I work hard with my swing, and I have to keep that intent. It's a good feeling. My goal is to hit the ball hard, and whatever happens happens. They'll fall, and I'm just trying to run as hard as I can."

Keene starter David Drouin, who was chased after recording one out in the third,, brought in two more runs via wild pitches. Vermont got another run off of him in the inning prior, as Ezell drew a bases-loaded walk with one out. Swamp Bats reliever Michael Pastore entered and gave up a two-run double to Tietjen before finally escaping the inning.

Drouin continued to struggle since arriving in Keene a little over a week ago, allowing six runs, five hits, and five walks in 2 1/3 innings. He’s been shelled for 12 earned runs in a little over four innings for the Swamp Bats this summer, as command problems have hampered the right-hander.

Pastore rolled through his first two innings of relief, but Vermont got to him in the sixth. With two runners on and two outs, the Mountaineers 6-7-8 hitters all reached on hits. Pinch-hitter Slade Heggen brought in two runs with a double off the wall in left, and Ryan Fineman and Keegan Meyn followed with singles to stretch the lead to double-digits.

Scocca, a game removed from hitting for the cycle, started the night 0-for-4, but his fifth at bat was something else. With two outs in the seventh, Scocca launched a two-run shot to right field off of Keene’s third reliever Dylan Sbordone to cap the scoring.

It was a solid win for the Mountaineers, who have now won back-to-back games at home, outscoring their opponents 27-4. After struggling out of the gate, Vermont is surging, as they’ve won three of four and have plenty going for them.

Benitez and Lamb are two members of a Vermont pitching staff that is among the league’s best. The defense, which piled up errors in the early going, has been spotty at times, but didn’t allow any of importance the past two games. Finally, the offense is heating up as Vermont entered hitting .285 over their past five games, and continued that trend last night en route to a convincing win.

"It's really great," Tietjen said of the team heating up. "There's a lot of confidence in our hitters right now. Everybody's putting up good at bats right now. If we keep doing this, we're going to turn this thing around."

All in all, the seven-game losing streak Vermont suffered through earlier this season is a thing of the past. As the team starts to click, Mountaineers fans have something to cheer for. After playing in Valley tonight to wrap up the month of June, Vermont returns for a three-game homestand, starting with Friday’s rescheduled game against Plymouth.