Game 34 Recap: Mountaineers 2, Gulls 1

Vermont's Sam Bordner went eight innings in his best start of the summer.

Making his first appearance since the All-Star Game last Sunday, first basemen Mikael Mogues returned to the Vermont lineup and cranked a two-run home run that proved to be decisive in the Mountaineers 2-1 win over the Newport Gulls Friday at Cardines Field.

Mogues’ shot came off Gulls righty Blake Battenfield in the top of the first inning. Paired with eight strong innings from Sam Bordner, the Mountaineers held off several Gulls rallies to snap sole possession of fourth place in the Northern Division.

Bordner was at the top of his game, scattering nine hits and a walk while striking out five over a season-long eight innings. In a performance reminiscent of collegiate teammate Sean Leland a summer ago, Bordner struck out five and provided a boost for a taxed Mountaineers pitching staff coming off of a doubleheader in Plymouth.

The Mountaineers sit two games under .500, but Winnipesaukee and Keene both faltered on the road last night, allowing Vermont to build a game advantage for the fourth and final playoff spot. Vermont faces a tough test tonight as they travel to take on the Ocean State Waves (19-16), while Winnipesaukee and Keene face off at noon before playing their regularly scheduled games against Sanford and North Adams, respectively.

Mogues finished 2-for-4 with a walk, providing a much-needed boost for a Mountaineers offense that has largely been held in check the last couple of games. His first-inning shot was the only runs Vermont pushed across, but his bat in the middle of the Mountaineers lineup is a welcome sight.

The theme for both teams was leaving runners on base, as the teams combined for 21 hits but just three runs. Vermont left seven runners on base against Battenfield, who allowed the Mogues home run but otherwise worked around nine hits and struck out five in five innings of work.

Gulls reliever Matthew McGarry turned in his best outing of the summer, striking out five over four scoreless frames. McGarry worked around jams in the sixth and eighth, but kept his team within striking distance in a good outing.

Newport, though, struggled to get to Bordner until his last inning of work. The Gulls ran themselves out of runs — Cole Fabio was caught stealing in the third, and a botched first-and-third walkoff play ended with Mountaineers second basemen Trevor Ezell gunning down Stephen Scott at the plate.

Back-to-back singles in the sixth were squandered as well, even after a sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position with just one out. A leadoff double in the eighth from Fabio proved to be enough to get a run in, as Scott’s one-out groundout to second brought in Newport’s first run. Border stranded the tying run at third, however, and turned it over to Jonathan Stiever for the ninth.

In his first save situation of the summer, Stiever worked around a two-out single to close out the Gulls.

Jeremy Giles finished 3-for-3 with a walk out of the nine spot in the Mountaineers order, while catcher Ryan Fineman reached base three times and showed his defensive prowess by throwing out a runner. Fireman’s been one of the better defensive catchers in the league so far this season, and almost scored twice. Will Morgan added a 2-for-5 day, doubling in the first and scoring on Mogues blast.

The five-game road trip has gotten off to a promising start for Vermont, who’s 2-1 and in good shape entering their final stretch. After starting a shaky 1-10 on the road, the Mountaineers have began to find success, which is important with plenty of road games left.