(Trenton, NJ) – The West Virginia Black Bears showed why they were the first half champions in their first trip to Trenton Thunder Ballpark on Monday night. In their second most lopsided loss of the season, the Thunder were outhit 19-7 in a 17-6 setback as they dropped to 0-3 in the second half of the season. The teams combined on 17 walks and 19 strikeouts, five Black Bears finished with multi-hit games, and leadoff hitter *Turner Hill *reached base in all seven plate appearances with five singles and a pair of walks. The 3 hour and 48 minute affair was also Trenton’s (20-21) longest game of the season thus far.
Thunder starter Joe Joe Rodriguez *surrendered a first inning run when *Ryan Hernandez *rolled into a 6-4-3 double play after back-to-back singles from Hill and *Jake Elliott *put runners at the corners to open the game. In the bottom of the inning, the Thunder took a short-lived lead by capitalizing on a wild *Zach Bravo, who surrendered a two-RBI double to Kolby Blanchard.
In the second, the visitors once again had runners at the corners with nobody out and executed a double steal which scored *Jovante Dorris *with the tying run. Rodriguez (1-2) was later pulled in the third after facing eight hitters and only recording two outs, but *Jose Ledesma *ended the three-run frame by striking out Hernandez with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Trenton inched back within a run in the bottom of the third, which opened with Dilan Espinal *reaching on an error by Dorris at second base. The miscue proved costly and the Thunder scored two unearned runs on an RBI double from *Josh Surowiec and another error from Hernandez at first base that made it 5-4. Bravo (2-0) finished his five innings by retiring the last seven batters he faced which started a long string of 11 straight Thunder hitters failing to reach.
The Black Bears started pulling away with two runs in the sixth which widened the lead to 7-4. And the bleeding never subsided because over the last three innings they’d combine to score 10 runs on 10 hits. In the home seventh, the Thunder strung together three straight hits off Daniel Rivero, capped off by Espinal’s second hit which drove in a run. Christian Merriwether *tacked on the final Thunder run in the bottom of the ninth after entering as a late replacement in center field for *Ryan McCarthy. *Damian Yenzi *picked up his first hit with a seventh inning single and *Paul Coumoulos *made his return to Trenton with a double after Yenzi.
The series picks up on Tuesday, July 26 at 7:00 PM when the first 1,500 Thunder fans ages 13 & up will receive a Bobblehead of manager Jeff Manto, presented by Liberty Coke! It's also a SuperValue Tuesday with $1 Hot Dogs & Kids Eat Free! For full ticket pricing and information for the rest of the 2022 season, partnership/sponsorship opportunities, and information about special events at Trenton Thunder Ballpark, please visit trentonthunder.com or call the Thunder Box Office at (609) 394-3300, opt 4.
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New Jersey's Baseball Team | Founding Member of the MLB Draft League
The Trenton Thunder have drawn over 10 million fans over 28 years and have won the three major awards that Minor League Baseball teams can win; the Johnson Trophy for the “Nation's Best Franchise”, the Larry MacPhail Trophy for Outstanding Club Promotion, and the Bob Frietas Award for Long-Term Success, given by Baseball America. The team has given back over $7.5 million worth of goods, services, and monetary donations through Trenton Thunder Charities, under the Grand Slam We Care Foundation umbrella. The Thunder can be found online at trentonthunder.com, facebook.com/trentonthunder, twitter.com/trentonthunder, and on youtube.com/AATrentonThunder.
