Burlington pitcher Ryan Stackpole and the Hunters beat the Crushers on Saturday, 10-4.
The Burlington Hunters exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat the Canton Crushers, 10-4, Saturday at Bowdoin Field in Tri-State League action.
The victory gave Burlington (13-7) the most regular season wins in team history, dating back to 2005. Canton (5-15) was scheduled to play Brass City on Sunday but the Vipers forfeited the game.
Canton will face the Connecticut Gamecocks on Tuesday in a playoff qualifying contest in Waterbury beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Bucks Hill Park with the winner advancing to face defending champion Tri-Town in a best-of-3 series beginning on Saturday.
The Crushers had a 4-3 lead after three innings, thanks in part to a two-run home run from Jake Bryant in the third. Burlington tied the game in the fourth inning and it remained tied at 4-4 going into the seventh inning.
Ryan Lavelle’s two-run double gave Burlington a 6-4 lead and the Hunters never looked back. They added runs on a RBI single from Jose Lopez and Andrew Bunger and scored two additional runs thanks to a wild pitch and passed ball.
Zaruba was 2-for-3 with three RI for Burlington while Chris Rossi was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Starting pitcher Ryan Stackpole struck out six in 3.1 innings of work. Taylor Donofrio pitched three innings of relief to secure the win. Burlington beat Canton for the fourth time this season.
For Canton, Ben Sullivan was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles while Bryant hit his first home run sof the season. Mike Sullivan had the other hit for the Crushers, who have dropped 10 straight to Burlington since beating the Hunters in June 2017.
Burlington 10, Canton 4
At Canton
Burlington (13-7) 201 100 6 — 10-10-3
Canton (4-15) 112 000 0 — 4-4-2
Ryan Stackpole, Taylor Donofrio (4) and Chris Rossi; Jim Michanczyk and Jake Bryant; WP: Donofrio; LP: Michanczyk (0-5); 2B: George Zaruba (B), Ryan Lavelle (B), HR: Jake Bryant (C)
