(Trenton, NJ) – In one of their best all-around performances of the second half, the Trenton Thunder (26-31) topped the Williamsport Crosscutters (32-27) 7-3 to start their three-game series on Tuesday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. The Thunder answered back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-1 and eventually scored four in the seventh to pull away for the victory. With two more games on the homestand, the Thunder have put themselves in position to win their first series of the month.
In his second start for the Thunder, **Niko Leontarakis **walked **Taylor Jackson **with one out in the first and watched the center fielder move to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. With two outs, **EJ Taylor’s **single brought in his 11th run for a 1-0 Williamsport lead. In the bottom of the inning, Trenton answered back against **Nick Meyer **when **Ryan McCarthy’s **fielder’s choice groundout scored **Dilan Espinal **with the bases loaded.
Williamsport re-took the lead in the third after Jackson singled with one out and **Carter Mize **followed by getting hit with a 1-0 pitch. Two pitches later, Taylor singled in his second run and a sacrifice fly from shortstop **Travis Holt **pushed it to 3-1. Once again, the Thunder had the immediate response on back-to-back singles by **Christian Merriwether **and **Mark Herron **in the bottom of the third. After a single in the first, **Jonathan Waite’s **sacrifice fly brought up McCarthy, who lashed a solo shot to right for his fifth home run and a 3-3 tie.
Leontarakis finished his five innings by retiring the last six Crosscutters in a row before **Connor VanCleave **(1-1) worked two hitless innings to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the seventh, the Thunder sent eight to the plate and came away with four runs on four hits.
**Troy Banks **led off with a single and moved up on a **Kevin Saenz **sacrifice bunt to third base that was thrown away by Taylor for an error. Following a wild pitch from **Colin Kennedy **(0-2), Merriwether executed a perfect suicide squeeze bunt that got past the pitchers’ mound to score both runners and give Trenton its first lead. Herron continued the outburst with a double and Waite’s single into right tacked on two more runs for a 7-3 score. **Ryan Sandberg **and **DJ Wilkinson **worked the eighth and ninth and combined on three strikeouts as the Thunder bullpen only allowed four baserunners over the last five innings.
The series continues on Wednesday, August 17 at 7:00 PM when your Thunder welcome all well-behaved dogs to Trenton Thunder Ballpark for another Tail Waggin' Wednesday, presented by NutriSource! The first 1,000 fans ages 13+ will also receive a Batman Bobblehead, presented by Hyundai! 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 | 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.
