Game 9 Recap: Mountaineers 5, Muskrats 1

In a season where so many of the Mountaineers games have looked the same, Sunday's 5-1 victory in Winnipesaukee was certainly different.

Joe Jacques allowed a lone run over six innings with seven strikeouts, four different hitters recorded RBIs, and reliever Chandler Sedat polished off a three-inning save as Vermont snapped a seven-game losing streak.

After being mired in a skid since their season opener, the Mountaineers had fallen into a pattern of building early leads and faltering late. Sunday night's game featured none of that. A four-run fifth inning backed a quality start from Jacques, and Sedat was a dominant arm out of the bullpen. All in all, it was a refreshing sight to see.

Offensively, no one player carried the load. The Mountaineers strung hits together against Winnipesaukee reliever George Lamb in the fifth inning. Troy Scocca drove in his team-high fifth run with a single, then Joe Tietjen doubled in a run, Mikael Mogues had a RBI groundout, and Mike Osinski followed with a single..

Will Morgan drove in the final run with a one-out RBI double in the eighth, pushing the lead to four.

Jacques was excellent in his second start of the summer, raising his ERA to a minuscule 0.81. He's piled up nine strikeouts in 11 innings this summer, walking just two. He became the first Mountaineer starting pitcher to record a win, turning in a quality start.

The lone run scored by the Muskrats came in the fourth, coming via a RBI single by Jonathan Ortega.

Vermont's bullpen struggles have been well-documented, so when Jacques turned the ball over to relief in the seventh, many Mountaineers fans most likely didn't feel confident. However, Sedat, a 6-1 right-hander, has been one of the team's best pitchers this summer. He retired the first four batters he faced, and worked around a one-out single in the eighth. Sedat has two scoreless appearances under his belt this summer, fanning six in seven innings while allowing just two baserunners.

It was a big win for Vermont, and they'll look to build on it after a day of rest. They return for a two-game homestand, facing Southern Division foes Newport and Ocean State. The Gulls sit at 5-4, while the Waves are the hottest team in baseball -- winners of seven straight -- and hold a league-best 8-2 record.