Game 35 Recap: Mountaineers 10, Waves 1

Vermont's Slade Heggen went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in the win.

Mikael Mogues homered for the second straight game while Jeremy Giles and Slade Heggen both went 3-for-5, fueling an offensive eruption in Vermont’s 10-1 rout of Ocean State in the fourth game of their Southern Division road trip.

Giles broke open the scoring in the third with a solo home run, and Mogues added one of his own in the second. The Waves managed to get a run back in the fourth, but Vermont went on to score six runs over the final two innings and roll to the win.

Vermont’s second straight win improved their record to 17-18, just a game under .500 while holding a game lead on Keene for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North.

Kevin Kernan threw three hitless innings in relief, combining with Chandler Sedat and starter Fitzpatrick Stadler to hold the Waves to just three hits. One hit was a solo home run off the bat of RJ Blanton in the fourth, the first run Sedat allowed this season, snapping a scoreless innings streak at 18 2/3.

Ocean State worked through five pitchers, including three during Vermont’s four-run eighth inning. Starter Max Ford gave up two home runs over 3 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out four in the loss. The duo of All-Star pitchers in Nick Johnson and Robbie Hitt didn’t last more than three innings apiece, as Johnson gave up a run in 2 1/3 and Hitt was chased in the eighth after allowing three runs.

Left-hander Logan Lessard faced three batters, and they all reached against him, one coming across. Tyler Barss ended the threat in the eighth but allowed a pair of runs in the ninth. For a pitching staff that was among the league’s best in the first half of the season, the Waves have struggled mightily as of late. They dropped to a respectable 19-17 on the year but are a troubling 3-7 over their past 10 games.

Stadler struggled with control early, walking four and leaving with one out in the fourth. It was the right-hander’s first start of the summer, and he allowed a lone hit and used a pair of double plays to escape jams. Sedat entered with a runner on second and got a double play of his own, as center fielder Joe Tietjen caught a fly ball and threw out the runner tagging to third.

Giles and Mogues both hit home runs, and shortstop Michael Osinski reached on an error and came around to score on an error. Blanton’s home run cut Vermont’s lead to two, but Trevor Ezell answered with a sacrifice fly in the top of the frame.

Vermont struck for six runs against the Waves bullpen, starting with a RBI single from Heggen. Osinski reached on a dropped third strike that brought in another run, and Troy Scocca drove in two with a bases-loaded double. In the ninth, Giles led off with his second double of the day and scored on Heggen’s RBI double of his own. He capped the scoring by coming across on another error, this one by Ocean State’s second basemen.

It was a big win for the Mountaineers, who’ve now taken three of four against Southern Division foes on their road trip. They finish it out with a game tonight against the New Bedford Bay Sox (17-19), who are coming off a rain-shortened blowout loss to Newport.

Vermont’s main competition is in the form of the Keene Swamp Bats, who sit a game back. Winnipesaukee has plummeted, dropping seven straight, and are at risk of being leaped in the standings by Upper Valley. Vermont’s only a half-game out of third place North Adams, a team they play at home twice over the final two weeks of the season.