TRENTON, NJ – Round one goes to the Thunder.
It took ten innings, but the Trenton Thunder eventually defeated the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Friday night, 7-6.
Trenton scored first, with Billy Fleming’s third inning RBI single. That brought home Jorge Saez, with the Thunder tacking on another run before the end of the third.
New Hampshire took one back in the fourth, but another the neither side was done.
Another Fleming hit, this time a double, sparked a three-run rally in the fifth, with Harold Ramirez answering with a two-run homer in the sixth for the ‘Cats.
Gunnar Heidt’s sacrifice fly RBI in the seventh brought the visitors within a run, but another Fleming double half an inning later gave Fleming his third RBI of the night.
The pesky Fisher Cats finally tied up the contest in the eighth thanks to a first pitch homer from Bo Bichette. That blast toward the Delaware River gave Bichette his third run of the night, bringing him within four runs of league leader and teammate Jonathan Davis.
Brady Lail retired the next three Fisher Cat batters, and New Hampshire squandered a golden opportunity in the ninth. There, despite one out and the bases loaded, Jon Berti and Bichette each quickly grounded out, robbing what little momentum was left on their side.
Trenton’s Mandy Alvarez dealt the final blow, an infield single that gave New Hampshire its fifth walk-off loss of the season.
At the plate, Fleming’s four hits led the way for both sides while Ramirez, Bichette and Juan Kelly each grabbed multiple hits for the Fisher Cats.
Dillon Tate threw six innings in the no decision start for the Thunder, with David Sosebee getting his first win of the year after working the ninth and tenth.
New Hampshire’s Justin Dillion also had a six-inning no decision start, with the loss credited to Travis Bergen.
The two teams meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the Fisher Cats sending out Jordan Romano (8-3, 4.08 ERA) against Trenton’s Michael King (1-1, 2.37 ERA).
