Late Push by Thunder Bats not Enough, Lose 5-3

Late Push by Thunder Bats not Enough, Lose 5-3

Thunder pull within one run in 8th inning

TRENTON, NJ - The Trenton Thunder did not record their first hit of the ballgame until the 6th inning, at which point the New Britain Rock Cats had already jumped out to a 4-0 lead in their 5-3 win over the Thunder Monday night.

Trevor May tossed four perfect innings before allowing a walk to Kyle Roller to begin the 5th inning. He hadn't allowed a hit in the ballgame with one out in the 6th inning but Mason Williams and Ramon Flores notched back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Kyle Roller was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but Carmen Angelini flew out to centerfield as the tying run in a 4-0 game.

May finished the night with six innings of shutout, two-run baseball while striking out nine Thunder batters. In the last seven days, May has gone 2-0 with just 4 hits allowed and two runs in 12.0 innings with 13 strikeouts against the Thunder.

Trenton scored three times in the 8th inning off Dan Turpen to draw back to within a run, 4-3. With the bases empty and two outs, Flores and Jose Pirela walked consecutively. Roller then delivered an RBI single and Angelini followed with a two-run double. New Britain made a pitching change so lefty Ryan O'Rourke would face the lefty Ben Gamel with the tying run on second base, and he struck out Gamel looking to end the threat.

The Rock Cats scored a run off Francisco Rondon in the top of the 9th to double their lead to 5-3.

With the loss and a win by the Portland Sea Dogs over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Trenton's lead in the East Division Wild Card remains 3.0 games over the Fisher Cats but is now only 4.0 over the Sea Dogs with 8 games remaining in the regular season. New Britain lingers 6.5 games behind the Thunder.

Trenton and the New Britain Rock Cats battle at ARM & HAMMER Park in Game 2 of this four-game series Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Trenton sends LHP Nik Turley (9-8, 4.12) to the mound against RHP Cole De Vries (0-2, 1.69) for the Rock Cats. Limited tickets available at www.trentonthunder.com/tickets or by calling (609)394-3300. Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 6:45 p.m.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder organization. The original article can be seen HERE.