(Trenton, NJ) – Less than 24 hours after their bullpen helped carry them to a 7-4 win over Williamsport, the Thunder couldn’t keep a 2-0 lead in a seven-inning game at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. The first-place Crosscutters scored twice in the fourth, sixth, and seventh to tie the series at a game apiece for their first win in Trenton on their fifth try. John Cristino’s second inning home run provided all the offense as starter Micah Bucknam struck out a season-high four over three scoreless innings.
Bucknam and Easton Sikorski traded zeroes in the first, which led to a frantic second inning when the Crosscutters got runners to second and third with two outs. Michael Gupton then charged a bouncer up the third base line, and Nate Ochoa picked it out before firing a one hop strike to Dalton Davis across the diamond for the final out. Mason Hammonds’ one-out single in the bottom of the inning brought up Cristino, who jumped on the first pitch for a loud two-run homer to left for a 2-0 Trenton advantage.
The Crosscutters tied the score with Bucknam gone after three, scoring twice off Malcolm Gilchrist before Devin Milberg secured the final out to strand the bases loaded. Following an easy fifth, Milberg (1-1) surrendered a leadoff single to Lance Logsdon, who got on for the third straight time in the sixth. Two batters later, Cole Evans poked a single and was forced out at second on a grounder up the middle by Gupton. With runners at the corners, Gupton stole second, and the throw down to try and nab him allowed Logsdon to steal home with the go-ahead run. Number nine batter Edarian Williams’ second RBI was a single on a 3-1 pitch that pushed the lead to 4-2.
In the seventh, **Hogan McIntosh’s _third hit was a two-run homer to left that gave Williamsport a 6-2 lead. In their last ups, the Thunder made things interesting by getting a leadoff single from *_Gus Sosa _and an opposite field double into the left field corner from _Ryan McCarthy. But *_Jacob Peaden *_got the next three outs to keep the runners stuck in scoring position and send the Thunder (14-14) back to .500. Hammonds’ fourth inning double gave him his sixth multi-hit game, tying him with *_Andrew Cossetti *_for the team lead.
The Thunder and Crosscutters wrap up their series with the third and deciding game on Wednesday, July 6th at 7:00 PM when all Thunder fans will get an MLB Network Koozie! To purchase tickets, call (609)-394-3300, Opt 4 or visit trentonthunder.com.
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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.
