By Lance Reynolds
JJ Schwarz certainly made the most of his Centennial Field debut in a Vermont Lake Monsters 5-4 victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades Thursday.
Schwarz, who made his Lake Monsters debut Tuesday in Connecticut, recorded two hits and drove in a run to help guide the Lake Monsters to a series-opening win of their three-game series with the Renegades.
“I was seeing the ball a little better than I was the past couple of days,” Schwarz said. “I was just adjusting, getting used to it, and I felt really comfortable out there today.”
With Vermont up 3-2 in the fifth, Schwarz added a pivotal insurance run on a line-drive single to right bringing in Jeremy Eierman with the Lake Monsters fourth run.
“I saw that the infield was in, so I was trying to drive one to the outfield,” Schwarz said of the run-scoring single. “I had two strikes on me, so I was trying to battle, and he threw me one right on the corner, and I tried to put it in play because it was a good pitcher’s pitch.”
Schwarz began his night with a second-inning walk and collected a single to left in the third – the single marked Schwarz’ first hit with Vermont.
In the seventh Schwarz flew out to end the inning after Eierman cushioned the Lake Monsters lead to 5-3 with a solo home run to right field.
Schwarz, the eighth-round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics in this year’s draft, received the call-up to Vermont after a brief seven-game stint in the Arizona League, in which he had seven hits en route to a .389 batting average.
Schwarz, listed as a catcher, will be splitting time behind the plate with Jose Rivas and Robert Mullen. However, Lake Monsters manager Aaron Nieckula will find ways to put Schwarz, Vermont’s designated hitter Thursday, into the lineup for the stretch-run of the season.
“It’s a developmental system, so everyone has got to play, and I completely understand that,” Schwarz said. “I’ll definitely have to stay sharp on the days that I am not catching and do stuff everyday.”
The call-up to the Lake Monsters is extra meaningful to Schwarz as his father, Jeff, served as the Vermont Expos pitching coach in 2001.
“It’s really cool,” Schwarz said of getting the opportunity to play in Vermont. “It’s a very unique experience. I’m blessed to be up here.”
Eierman scored three runs and stroked two hits, including his seventh-inning home run, the eventual game-winning run.
Vermont improves to 22-24 and game two of the three-game series with McNamara Division leading Hudson Valley is Friday with first pitch at 7:05pm.
