15 years later.

Have you ever been to a game where there home team wins 11-7 but most of the celebration doesn’t happen until 1 hour and 20 minutes after the game concluded?  Probably not, but that is exactly what happened at Centennial Field.

After finishing 1 and a half innings down 5-0, there was only one thing to do.  The Lake Monsters answered back by scoring 5 runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning.  From there, the Monsters would take the lead by scoring 1 run in each of the next 2 innings, only to have the ValleyCats tie it up again with 2 runs in the sixth.  Apparently all the Monsters needed was to stretch along with the crowd to “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” because the bottom of the seventh brought in 3 more runs, giving them the lead again, this time for good.  They would even add on an insurance run in the eighth bringing them to an 11-7 win.  This was only have the battle though.

Bobby Crocker slides into home during the Lake Monsters
second inning 5 run rally.

Despite the win, the Lake Monsters season still would have come to an end today if the Connecticut Tigers defeated the Lowell Spinners.  Thanks to this, you could go to almost anywhere in the ballpark and find fans using their phones to try and find out how the other game was going.  As a matter of fact, when I went up to the press box to find out the score update, I stuck my head in the door and Paul, the head of Media Relations, told me the answer before I even had to ask.  Even though there were so many sources being tapped to find the score, fans were still anxiously awaiting the “Out Of Town Scoreboard”.  A loud collective sigh could be heard through out the stands when it was announced that Connecticut had won their game 6-5.  That meant that, no matter what happened then, the Lake Monsters season was over.

As everyone was settling in to watch the end of what was still a great game, an interesting bit of news was coming to light.  That’s when Rich Haskell’s voice came over the P.A. system with some of the best news he has announced in his 18 seasons as the stadium announcer.  Connecticut’s winning run was reversed as a result of runner interference.  The resulting cheer was far louder than the sigh that had preceded it.  It wasn’t over, the Monsters could still take the title.

Following the conclusion of the game in Vermont, the stadium music was replaced by the play by play radio coverage of the game in Connecticut.  Looking at all the fans in the stands, you’d have know idea that the current game was actually happening 272 miles away, and not right in front of them.  Then all we could do was wait.  After the call was reversed in the ninth inning, the game would go into extra innings…..a lot of extra innings.  Everyone sat there as the game rolled on.  A rollercoaster of reactions went along with the game.  Cheers came as Lowell made a good play, followed by moans as Connecticut managed to get out of it, time after time.

Finally, in the top of the sixteenth inning, Lowell scored a run.  Again, the resulting cheer sounded as if the runner had crossed home plate right there in Centennial.  Now we just had to wait for Connecticut to get 3 outs…..yikes.  Suddenly, it was over, Lowell had won the game!  In all the years I have been a part of the Vermont Expos/Lake Monsters, I have never cheered for the Spinners (despite being a Boston fan), but tonight their winning was just as important as the Monsters winning.

Lake Monsters owner, Ray Pecor, celebrates after the
Monsters win the Stedler Division title.

It really happened, the Vermont Lake Monsters are the Stedler Division Champions!  15 years might not rank as a full “Curse” but the fans had become accustomed to the year ending with the regular season.  Being a New England team, maybe there was some significance to the fact that the end our title drought rested on the Boston Red Sox affiliate Lowell Spinners.

What’s next?  Well, onward and upward of course.  Tuesday night, the Lake Monsters start their playoff run against the Auburn Doubledays.  The Doubledays are the affiliate of the Washington Nationals, who were the parent club of the Vermont franchise from 1994 until 2010.  This should be quite a game as the Auburn team will include some faces familiar to Vermont fans.

With the momentum of these last 2 victories behind them, I believe your Vermont Lake Monsters are ready to start this post season off right.  Be sure to come out to Centennial Field on Tuesday for the 7:05 pm game.  There is a special playoff price of $3 a ticket, so come cheer them on as they begin this run for the Champioship.

See you at the ballpark.