TRENTON, N.J. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ offense continues to struggle, as the Trenton Thunder sent them out of the Garden State with a 4-0 defeat on Wednesday.
New Hampshire managed just four hits, despite a promising lead-off double from Vinny Capra in the first. Trenton hurler Clarke Schmidt retired next 17 batters, a streak that was broken by a single from Capra in the sixth.
Meanwhile, Trenton’s Angel Aguilar came home on a wild pitch by Justin Dillon in the third. Another wild pitch from Dillon in the fourth transformed into another run and the Thunder added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh.
Schmidt (1-0) pitched 6 2/3 innings, ending with nine strikeouts, while Dillon (5-3) lasted four innings, allowing four hits and a walk, striking out three.
Following the game, the Fisher Cats’ elimination number dropped to 2, falling 11.5 games behind Trenton in the year-long standings with 12 games remaining.
The Fisher Cats return to New Hampshire on Thursday for a 7:05 p.m. tilt against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Hector Perez (7-5, 4.70 ERA) takes the mound for New Hampshire against Binghamton’s Tony DiBrell (0-6, 9.73 ERA).