Local Lake Monsters back in Burlington

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Memorial Day Weekend has always been a big sports weekend in our area. You’ve got the Vermont City Marathon and one of the biggest races of the year at Thunder Road...but with the change from affiliated Minor League Baseball to the Futures League, it now also means opening day for the Vermont Lake Monsters.

The defending Futures League Champs are back in Burlington, with the Monsters beginnning practice this week ahead of their season opener Thursday night and the home opener on Friday.

For the quarter century the club was affiliated with a big league club, first the Expos, then Nats, and finally A’s, the team would open it’s season the second or third week of June. You might see a couple familiar names whether they be decently regarded prospects or on rare occasion a holdover from the year before, but for the most part, the only truly recognizable figure in the ballpark was Champ.

With all due respect to the big guy, he’s finally getting a little bit of competition on the name recognition front. The Monsters are bringing back a handful of returners from last year’s title team and will feature at least five Vermonters over the course of the Summer. We caught up with a couple of those guys and they say it’s good to be back.

“I’m very excited,” said Salisbury native and Middlebury Union H.S. grad Wyatt Cameron. “I can’t wait to play with some new guys and play with some of the guys I played with last Summer, everyone was great. I’m looking forward to meeting some of these guys and just learning what they have to offer and bring to the table.”

“It’s great, especially from the fan’s perspective to see returning guys from last year and especially local guys around Vermont,” said BFA-St. Albans grad Colby Brouillette. “You just talked to Wyatt, and myself, and Chase Carey (Colchester), and Donovan Montgomery (Burlington). We’ve got a ton of Vermont guys and I think that is a big factor especially being from their home town, home state. And I think that’s huge for Burlington.”

Vermont opens its title defense Thursday morning at Westfield before hosting the Starfires on Friday evening.

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