(Trenton, NJ) – After winning their first four games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark to start the season, the Thunder have now lost four straight with Saturday night’s 12-8 setback before a crowd of 6,674. Despite outhitting the Spikes 14-6, five Thunder errors doomed them for the second straight game. On the bright side, Nate Ochoa, Andrew Cossetti, and **EJ Exposito **each drove in two runs before the teams reconvene on Sunday afternoon for the series finale.
The Thunder got off to a tremendous start against Brock Blatter, who opened the home first with back-to-back strikeouts. The lineup then got the ball rolling with three straight singles from John Cristino, Colby Backus, and Cossetti, whose two-RBI knock gave the Thunder the early lead.
Reigning Pitcher of the Week **KC Hunt **(0-1)started the ballgame by throwing seventeen straight strikes and had four strikeouts over three scoreless innings at the outset. In the fourth, he plunked Spikes third baseman **Ty Hill **before surrendering his first hit to designated hitter Miles Simington. On a 1-1 pitch, **Tyler Williams **tied the ballgame with a two-RBI double into left center and **Will Sampson **struck his second homer of the series to give the Spikes a quick 4-2 lead.
State College blew the game open in the top of the sixth when Hill hammered the first pitch for a home run to left. **Owen Ayers **later tacked on two with a single and Damian Ortiz’ groundout to third capped off the frame, which ended with the Spikes ahead 9-2. The Thunder started chipping away in the home half, which started with **Jeff Manto’s **second walk of the game. A double from **Dalton Davis **put runners at second and third, and **Mason Hammonds’ **groundout pushed a run across to make it a 9-3 ballgame.
In the bottom of the eighth, **Ryan McCarthy **led off with a single into right field and took second on an error. Two batters later, Exposito singled him home and **Tate Ballestero **backed that up with a walk. With a couple of runners on, Ochoa came through in his second at bat with a two-RBI single that trimmed the Spikes lead to 9-6.
There was more activity in the ninth and the Spikes capitalized on four walks and a Thunder error to score three more without a hit and go back in front by six. Once again, the Thunder roared back and got the fans back into it on back-to-back singles by **Jovani Wiggs **and Gus Sosa to start the inning. McCarthy’s groundout scored a run and Exposito came through with his second run-scoring single for the final blow of the evening.
The series wraps up on Sunday, June 20 at 1:00 PM with a Father’s Day Luau! Come early for an onfield catch with dad, all fans get leis at the entrance, and kids can run the bases after the game! To purchase tickets, call (609)-394-3300, Opt 4 or visit trentonthunder.com.
New Jersey's Baseball Team | Big League Futures. Major League Fun.
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.
