Low-A Vermont Lake Monsters sweep their way into Championship Series

The minor league playoffs continued on Sunday, with the Low-A Vermont Lake Monsters resuming their semifinal series in the New York-Penn League. They made short work of their opponent, breezing to a 3-0 victory in just over two and a half hours. That wraps up a two-game sweep and puts Vermont in the best-of-three Championship Series later this week.

Here’s a closer look.

Vermont Lake Monsters vs. Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Indians)

League: Low-A NY-Penn League

Best-of-3 Semifinal Series

Monsters win series 2-0

Game 1: Monsters 8, Scrappers 3 (recap)
Game 2: Monsters 3, Scrappers 0 (box score)

Note: 2017 draft picks are denoted by the round in which they were selected.

The Lake Monsters reached base consistently throughout the game, but all the scoring came in the 3rd. Will Toffey (4th round) led off with a single, and Ryan Gridley (11th) followed with a walk to set the table. Then the usual suspects came through: Logan Farrar (36th) doubled to drive home one run, and Greg Deichmann (2nd) hit a sac fly to bring in another. One more sac fly after that (by catcher/DH Jordan Devencenzi) completed the rally, giving Vermont a 3-0 lead that never faltered.

Logan Farrar, OF: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, run, BB
Ryan Gridley, SS: 1-for-3, 2 BB, run
Will Toffey, 3B: 1-for-5, run
Greg Deichmann, OF: 0-for-3, RBI, sac fly

The pitching was dominant. Teenage lefty Jesus Luzardo (Doolittle trade) tossed five sparkling innings, facing just one batter over the minimum. Three more 2017 draft picks shut the door behind him: Wyatt Marks (13th), Logan Salow (6th), and Michael Danielak (19th). The trio combined to strike out six of the 13 batters they faced in four nearly perfect frames.

Jesus Luzardo: 5 ip, 0 runs, 5 Ks, 1 BB, 1 hit

Vermont will wait until tomorrow to find out their Championship Series opponent. The Hudson Valley Renegades (Rays) and Staten Island Yankees split the first two games of their semifinal and will play the decider on Tuesday.