(Trenton, NJ) – It took 10 days but the Trenton Thunder finally ended their six-game losing streak with a resounding 9-3 win over the West Virginia Black Bears on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. A crowd of 6,377 finally got to erupt when the Thunder broke a 2-2 tie with four in the fifth inning before a three-run seventh to break away for good. Four Thunder players finished with two hits, including left fielder Ryan McCarthy, who drove in a season-high four runs to increase his league leading RBI total to 35.
The Black Bears scored the game’s first run in the second by capitalizing on an error with **Matthew Sox **on the mound in his second appearance. The Thunder then did the same with a run in the bottom of the inning against lefthander Jeremy Cook, who struck out 13 over six innings in his previous start in Trenton on July 27. McCarthy’s first run batted in plated **Paul Coumoulos **in the third, but the lead was short lived as the Black Bears re-tied it in the fourth on a **Jovante Dorris **single during Sox’s final inning.
**Brian Williams **was brilliant in his first inning of relief for West Virginia by striking out the side in the fourth. But things quickly went south on him in the fifth when number nine batter **Sam Freedman **led off with a single through the middle. Coumoulos worked a one out walk and **Damian Yenzi **checked an infield single off the first base bag to load the bases for the middle of the order. After McCarthy cleared the bases with his fourth triple, a sacrifice fly from **Jonathan Waite **in his first game widened the lead to 6-2.
In true West Virginia fashion, they made things interesting against Thunder reliever **Adrian Reese **during his third and final inning in the seventh. Reese (1-2) induced double play balls in all three innings and eventually surrendered a run-scoring infield single to **Ruben Fontes **with two outs in the seventh. With the tying run at the plate, he ended his night in style by striking out **Logan Mathieu **on the 12th pitch of the at bat.
After the stretch, the Thunder went back to the well to extend the lead and never look back. With two runners on and only one out, **Troy Banks **came through with his first double and run batted in to score Waite for a 7-3 lead. Two batters later, Freedman finished it off with a two-RBI single which made it 9-3 and more than enough for **Ray Weber **and **DJ Wilkinson **to cover the last six outs.
The series wraps up on Sunday, August 14 at 5:00 PM when your Thunder host Football Night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. All fans are invited to wear their favorite team’s jersey and kids can run the bases after the game! 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.
