Five-run First Inning Powers Vermont to 7-4 Win over North Shore

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Powered by a five-run first inning, Vermont ended a five-game skid Friday night with a 7-4 win over North Shore.

The Basics

Score: North Shore 4, Vermont 7

Records: North Shore 14-19, Vermont 12-24

Location: Montpelier Recreation Field

Rapid Recap

Lefty Jerek Hobb made his second start and tossed six innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits and one unearned run. He punched out six and got the win. Vermont’s five-run inning started with an infield single and a stolen bag from Conlan Daniel. Jaylen Hernandez’s infield squibber at 16 miles per hour off his bat scored Daniel from third. Dom Camera singled to put runners on the corners. A double steal and an error by North Shore’s catcher scored Hernandez, and a wild pitch plated Camera. Sam Gates doubled and then scored on another double steal with Foster Apple drawing a throw. Apple scored on Christian Reyna’s first hit and plate appearance as a Mountaineer to cap the five-spot. Hobb retired the first nine he faced. North Shore plated a run in the fourth on an error and a double to make it 5-1. Vermont got the run right back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally. Joey Pagano was hit by a pitch and Hernandez worked a walk to set up Dom Camera’s RBI single to left field. Vermont made it a 7-1 game as Brendan Buecker led off the inning with a base hit, Daniel’s sacrifice moved him to second and Pagano knocked a single to center to allow Buecker to score. Jason Pinsonnault entered for Vermont in the seventh and struck out the first two hitters he faced. His slider clocked in at 63 miles per hour. He issued two walks, hit a batter and two threw two balls to the backstop that allowed two runs to score for North Shore. The Navigators had the bases loaded in the eighth, but only scored one run as reliever Logan Magdits hit a batter with nowhere to put him before retiring the pinch hitter on a fly out to center.  Magdits notched the three-out save in the ninth with a 1-2-3 frame.

Game Notes

WP: Jerek Hobb (1-1) | LP: Colin Dowdle (2-2) | SV: Logan Magdits (1)
Vermont chased Dowdle, North Shore’s starter, out of the game after he recorded two outs. They batted around in the first inning.
This is the Mountaineers first win since July 12th. They have won two of the last 13 games.
Eight of nine hitters for Vermont tallied hits while all nine reached safely.
Pagano has 13 hits in his last 13 games.
Magdits has not allowed an earned run this season in 7.1 innings.
Buecker reached three times via two hit by pitches and a single.
Vermont stole six bases. They have 134 stolen bags and are averaging 3.7 per game. They are 11 bags away from breaking the NECBL record with 8 games remaining.
Vermont is 4.5 games back of the fourth and final playoff spot with 8 to play. Upper Valley is in fourth place, and Vermont will face them one more time with a chance to clinch the tiebreaker.
The Navigators lead the season series 3-2 with Vermont.
Vermont and North Shore will meet once more on July 27th at 1:35 p.m. for the final contest in 2025 at Fraser Field.

Photo credit: Sam Hawley, Photography Intern 

Photo Description: Matthew Minckler and Kameron Hartenstein on July 16th