(Trenton, NJ) – For the second straight night, six Crosscutters runs were enough to stymie the Thunder as the teams got together after a rain-shortened series opener on Friday night. Through two games, the Thunder haven’t held the lead after yet another stellar starting pitching performance from Williamsport’s Brandon Kaminer. The lefthander struck out eight over six innings and two Thunder runs in the eighth and ninth weren’t enough as Williamsport escaped with a 6-4 win before a crowd of 5,238 at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
In his first starting assignment, Trenton’s **Niko Leontarakis **got off to an ominous start by surrendering three straight hits to open the ballgame as Williamsport grabbed a 1-0 lead on **EJ Taylor’s **double. **Nicholas Hussey **quickly made it 2-0 with a groundout, starting a stretch of eight straight set down by Leontarakis.
The Thunder got leadoff singles in the first and second from **Dilan Espinal **and **Damian Yenzi **but failed to capitalize as the lefty Kaminer racked up two strikeouts from the second through the fourth. In the fifth, they got another leadoff single from Josh Surowiec and a walk by Troy Banks and Kaminer (1-1) responded by retiring the last four hitters he faced to finish six scoreless innings. During Leontarakis’ (0-1) final inning in the fifth, Hussey’s RBI single scored **Taylor Jackson **following a one-out double at the top of Williamsport’s lineup.
Trenton’s bullpen had another nice night as **Matthew Sox **struck out two in a hitless sixth in his Thunder debut. Lefthander **Connor VanCleave **came through with his best appearance thus far by firing two hitless innings which kept the score 3-0 until the offense came alive against **Colin Kennedy **in the eighth.
Banks got aboard for the second time with a leadoff single and **Paul Coumoulos **followed two batters later with one of his own. With two outs, **Ryan McCarthy **laced a triple to right center to make it a 3-2 game and put the tying run at third base. **Jesse Bolt **kept it right there by recording the final out, setting the stage for a frantic ninth inning.
With **Hunter Waldis **on the mound, it looked like Trenton would coast through to get into the bottom of the ninth with a chance to score two and win the ballgame. However, the Crosscutters capitalized on three consecutive errors from the left side of the Thunder infield to add three unearned runs to the lead and go up 6-2. In the home half, **Jeff Manto **and **Mark Herron Jr. **singled back-to-back and pinch-hitter **Ben Newbert **worked a walk to load the bases and bring up the tying run. Espinal’s sacrifice fly made it 6-3 and on an 0-2 pitch, Coumolos’ run-scoring single brought up the winning run with two on and two outs. **Cristian Lopez **then struck out pinch-hitter **Kolby Blanchard **to give Williamsport a 6-4 win and a chance at a sweep on Sunday.
The series concludes on a Spooky Sunday on August 7 at 5:00 PM when the Thunder host Halfway to Halloween Night with a Youth Bucket Hat giveaway for the first 1,000 fans ages 5-13, presented by Valley Spas & Pools! 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.
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.
