Futures League Notebook - July 20, 2026

ROCKLAND, Mass. -- The Futures League season is rounding third and headed for home.

Following this week's All-Star festivities, the playoff race will be fully on with the regular-season schedule dwindling to the final two-plus weeks. 

The Vermont Lake Monsters enter the break with an eight-game lead atop the standings, but the Worcester Bravehearts are also on a winning streak that has them holding down third. 

The latest look around the Futures League covers the games of July 13-19.

Zephyr Hats Futures League Player of the Week: Hunter St. Denis, Worcester Bravehearts (University of Maine)

St. Denis provided a shot of power to help Worcester finish last week on a three-game win streak, going 10-for-20 with two doubles, two home runs, eight runs scored and a pair of walks. The rising sophomore first baseman had multiple hits in three of his five contests, highlighted by a 4-for-4 performance on July 17 against Nashua and a separate multi-homer game against the Silver Knights two nights earlier.

Firecracker Sports Futures League Pitcher of the Week: Josh Mayo, Westfield Starfires (Springfield College)

Mayo dealt 7.1 shutout innings to lead his hometown Starfires to a 3-0 shutout win in Nashua on July 18. It was his third outing of at least seven innings this summer, as he now boasts a 2.48 ERA through 36.1 innings. This is Mayo's second Futures League Pitcher of the Week honor this summer to go along with two Pitcher of the Night nods.

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

LOWELL SPINNERS (18-27)

• The Spinners opened their final week before the All-Star break with back-to-back victories over Norwich and Westfield, winning both by two-run scores. 

• All-Star outfielder Jack Quigley (Maine) continues to be Lowell's offensive producer, carrying a .303 average after hitting his first home run of the season against Westfield. He had four hits and a team-best five runs scored last week. 

• Aidan Driscoll (Maryland) and David Vanderzouwen (Bentley) each drove in multiple runs on the week, contributing to the Monday win over Norwich with an RBI apiece. Grant McCubrey (LaSalle) threw 2.1 shutout innings in that game to earn the victory. 

• Jake Zawatsky (UMass Lowell) produced Lowell's top pitching performance of the week, throwing five shutout and two-hit innings with five strikeouts en route to a 6-4 win over Westfield last Tuesday.

NASHUA SILVER KNIGHTS (20-25)

• Despite a difficult 1-6 week heading into the All-Star break, the Silver Knights' offense showed flashes. Nashua scored 11 runs in a win over Worcester and 10 in the opening game of a doubleheader against first-place Vermont. 

• Connor Smith (Gannon) paced the offense with a huge week, highlighted by a three-run home run and four total RBI in the 11-8 victory over Worcester. Mason Campagna (Penn State) added a two-run homer and three RBI in the same game. 

• Mason Wilson (Penn State) delivered one of the team's top individual performances of the season in game one of Sunday's doubleheader, blasting a grand slam and finishing with five RBI. Hunter Troiano (Gannon) continued his strong play by driving in five runs over the final two games of the week. 

• AJ Kolb (Towson) remained a consistent spark at the top of the lineup, recording eight hits, including a three-hit game at New Britain, while stealing four bases. 

NEW BRITAIN BEES (24-18)

• The Bees' offense was paced by All-Star first baseman George Slauson (UConn), who went 7-for-15 with five doubles and six RBI. Tim Hennig (Binghamton) added a 4-for-10 week with two RBI. Brady Chernovetz (Southern Connecticut) added three hits with two RBI. 

• James Fagnant (UConn Avery Point) was a contributor on both sides of the ball, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and also tossing 1.1 scoreless innings to earn a Monday win over Vermont out of the bullpen.

• Thomas Harding (St. John's) struck out six over four innings without allowing a run. Braden Young (Wheaton) and Max Jarvie (Endicott) both had scoreless outings to post wins of their own. 

• Brandon Cahill (Monmouth) made two starts and struck out seven over six innings, leading a Bees staff that held opponents to a .212 average on the week.

NORWICH SEA UNICORNS (20-24)

• The Sea Unicorns' offense was led by TJ Baer (Marist), who went 10-for-23 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI. Kenny Noe (Monmouth) wasn't far behind at 8-for-21 with six RBI, three stolen bases and eight runs scored. CJ Nolan (Sacred Heart) provided pop with two home runs and three RBI on a 3-for-9 week. 

• Joe Pitts (UConn) was impressive on the mound, firing five scoreless innings while scattering no hits and picking up the win. He was Sunday's Pitcher of the Night.

• Shaun Flannery (UConn) had a strong week of his own out of the bullpen, working 2.2 innings across two appearances, allowing just two hits and striking out one batter to earn a win. 

• Norwich saw length from its rotation, as Eric Mathewson (Eastern Connecticut) struck out four over 2.2 innings of one-run ball, and Jacob Schrage (Post) fanned four batters across four innings in a solid turn on the mound.

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS (34-12)

• The Lake Monsters put together another strong week, winning five of seven games and closing on a four-game winning streak. Vermont earned victories over New Britain, Norwich, and Nashua, scoring 47 runs.

• Zach Geertsma (Mississippi State) led the offense with four RBI, five walks, and three runs scored. Hunter Strohm (Mississippi State) also enjoyed a productive week with eight runs scored, one home run, three RBI, and four walks.

• Brad Johnston (Swarthmore) supplied the power in the middle of the lineup with two home runs and a team-high 10 RBI.

• Brandon Rovinelli (Columbia) turned in Vermont's top pitching performance, earning a win while allowing one unearned run over 7.2 innings with four strikeouts.

WESTFIELD STARFIRES (16-26)

• The Starfires picked up wins over Worcester (6-3), Vermont (8-6), and Nashua (3-0), while finishing the stretch with a 1-0 record at home and 2-3 on the road. 

• Vance Bonior (UMass) paced the offense going 8-for-19 with two doubles, four runs scored and a stolen base, while Ryan Ventrelle (Notre Dame) was 8-for-21 with a double, four RBI and three runs scored. Cole Silvia (Iona) also turned in a productive week at 6-for-19 with two doubles, two RBI, three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.

• The Starfires arms continued to rack up strikeouts, led by Josh Mayo (Springfield) with four in his 7.1-inning shutout start. Tyler Dunlea (UMass Lowell) had five in 6.2 innings, and Cam Fisher (UMass Boston) added three over his three frames. 

• Westfield closed the week on a high note, blanking Nashua 3-0 behind a strong pitching performance to earn its third win of the week and maintain momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

WORCESTER BRAVEHEARTS (22-22)

• The Bravehearts bounced back from consecutive losses to finish the week with three straight victories against Westfield, Nashua, and New Britain.

• Hunter St. Denis (Maine) paced the offense with two home runs, six RBI, eight runs scored, two doubles, and two walks. He was named Futures League Player of the Week. 

• Alan Carpenter (Worcester State) also provided a spark at the plate, going 4-for-8 with four runs scored, four RBI, and two walks

• Jake Shaughnessy (Eastern Connecticut State) turned in Worcester's top pitching performance, allowing one earned run over 4.2 innings while striking out four. Caleb Allen (Bentley) earned a win after tossing six innings, surrendering one earned run on three hits while striking out six, and Joey Hagen (Trinity) picked up a victory with five innings of work, allowing no earned runs.