WORCESTER — Following Game 2 of the Worcester Bravehearts playoff series against the Vermont Lake Monsters, Uxbridge’s Talen Rosborough was sitting alone in the Worcester Bravehearts’ dugout with his head down, buried in his hands. Moments earlier he was standing at the plate with the bases loaded and one out representing the winning run as the Bravehearts were staring at a 9-6 deficit, hoping to come back to clinch a series sweep after they took Game 1, 11-6 Tuesday night in Vermont. If this were a movie written by a romantic – which baseball can sometimes mimic – Rosborough would have hit a walk-off grand slam to clinch the series and send Worcester to its eighth Futures Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series appearance in franchise history. However, that was not the case as Rosborough hit a soft liner back to pitcher Brady Lane who then doubled up pinch runner Jack Murray to end the ball game as the Lake Monsters hung on to force a winner take all Game 3 on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at Centennial Field in Burlington, Vermont. “As long as that third out isn’t made, we have a shot,” Bravehearts manager Joe Galvin said. “Even though we got down, we came back and even in that last inning, we had the winning run at the plate. It would have been very easy for us to roll over at that point, but these guys didn’t and they don’t do that and that’s why I feel very good about Game 3.”
Game 2 served as a back and forth marathon between the two teams. Worcester led 5-2 after three innings of play, but Vermont chipped away to score four unanswered runs to take a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. The Bravehearts tied the game at 6-6 thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Keating and a throwing error by pitcher Brandon Rovinelli allowed pinch runner John Ramsey to score the tying run. Rovinelli was able to settle down however and was able to escape the jam without further damage. “We barreled a lot of balls today,” said former Worcester State outfielder Chris Mondesir who is transferring to the University of Maine. “It’s unfortunate but the balls just found people” With one out in the top of the ninth and a runner on second, Vermont’s Thomas Moss broke the 6-6 tie with a mammoth home run to left center field to give the Lake Monsters an 8-6 lead. Brad Johnson would score another run in the ninth on a wild pitch to extend Vermont’s lead to 9-6. Defensive miscues plagued Worcester as four errors led to two unearned runs. “Four errors kind of speaks for themselves,” Galvin said. “Anytime you make that many mistakes it puts them behind the 8-ball.” Moss (2 for 4, HR, 3 RBIs) got the scoring started with a RBI single in the top of the first. Worcester responded in the bottom of the frame by scoring three runs thanks to three straight hits including two doubles to start the frame. Brandon Walsh (1 for 4, double) led off the second with a double and then scored on an error to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading to the bottom of the second. Keating (1 for 3, HR, RBI) immediately got that run back with a leadoff home run to right to extend the Bravehearts lead to 4-2. Alan Carpenter (2 for 3, RBI, run, 2 walks) would extend Worcester’s lead to 5-2 with a RBI single driving in former Worcester State teammate Mondesir (2 for 2, double, RBI, 2 runs, 3 walks). The Bravehearts offense would be shutout until the eighth as Isaac Jensen pitched five shutout innings out of the pen for Vermont, walking just two, striking out seven and allowing just one hit on 58 pitches. “Anytime a new pitcher comes into a game they want to command the zone,” Mondesir said. “They are putting balls in play and allowing hits to happen and allowing us to make our own mistakes.” From there, the Lake Monsters began chipping away, scoring a pair of runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and a single by Jake Lopez and an error that allowed former St. John’s catcher James Benestad, to score, to make it a one run game.
Vermont would score two more runs in the seventh on a RBI single by Danny O’Brien that scored Tyler Wiltsey and a single by Johnson and an error that allowed O’Brien to score the go-ahead run giving the Lake Monsters a 6-5 lead and their first lead since the first inning. The winner of Thursday night’s deciding Game 3 will face the New Britain Bees, who knocked off the two-time defending FCBL Champion Norwich Sea Unicorns in three games. “We are going to swing the bats, we can play defense, we just have to get it done and I know we have the arms to knock them out tomorrow,” Galvin said. “We just have to do it to them on their own field instead of doing it here.” — Contact Ethan Winter at sports@telegram.com. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Bravehearts fail to clinch trip to Futures League Championship Series on home field