These 'Cats have claws (Valleycats 11, Vermont 1, 6/15/18)

Wednesday's exhibition win over the Albany Dutchmen might as well have been a warning shot to the New York-Penn League.

The Tri-City Valleycats carried the momentum from their annual Education Day game into Friday's regular season opener at Bruno Stadium, in front of a packed house, and bludgeoned the Vermont Lake Monsters, 11-1.

Tri-City starter Chad Donato gave up a run without a hit in the top of the first. He had Vermont's Jeramiah McCray struck out, but catcher Oscar Campos couldn't contain the baseball, and McCray reached safely on a wild pitch. He'd come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Payton Squier, but that was the extent of the Lake Monsters' offense for the evening.

It didn't take long before the hosts answered.

With two out in the home first, Enmanuel Valdez drew a walk from Vermont starter Rafael Kelly. Then, Luis Encarnacion, cousin of Cleveland star Edwin Encarnacion, showed he has some power, too, cracking a two run homer over the left center field fence, just shy of the Valleycats' bullpen.

In the fourth, with Tri-City leading, 4-1, Kyle Davis, one of the holdovers from last year's team, crushed a Kelly pitch into the berm in left, making it 5-1. Then, in the fifth, two of the Astros' draft picks got into the act. Third round pick Jeremy Pena, out of Maine, stroked a double. The next batter was Houston's first round pick, Seth Beer, out of Clemson. The Suwanee, Georgia native slammed a two run homer into the same area in left center where Encarnacion parked his big fly earlier. That should've finished Kelly, but he stuck around to get two outs before plunking Ramiro Rodriguez and walking Davis, That finally brought a pitching change, as Kelly departed after 4 2/3 innings, charged with seven runs while walking three, hitting one, and striking out just two.

Donato, meanwhile, was brilliant. He went six in his season debut, giving up just the one run while walking one, and fanning six Lake Monster batters. In all, 'Cats pitchers racked up thirteen strikeouts on opening night.

The Valleycats are wearing memorial patches in memory of Millie Gladstone, wife of team president Bill Gladstone. Mrs. Gladstone passed away last month. It was opening night, so former Senator Joe Bruno, for whom the stadium is named, showed up to throw out the first pitch. The way Tri-City has played so far, their playoff draught may be coming to an end, but it is still early, and a lot can happen.