Turley Leads Thunder to 5-1 Win

TRENTON, NJ – Trenton used a dominant start by Nik Turley in Sunday evening’s 5-1 win to notch a series sweep over the Akron Aeros.

Trenton scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 1^st inning for an early 2-0 lead, and Turley would make it stand up with seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball for the Thunder. Turley collected his 9^th win of the season and lowered his ERA on the season to 3.74.

He needed just 68 pitches to get through the first six innings before running into trouble in the 7^th inning with Trenton leading 5-0. After recording the first out of the inning, he allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases. He then walked catcher Jake Lowery for Akron’s first run of the game, and it brought the potential tying run to the plate in a 5-1 game. The next batter, Giovanny Urshela, was Turley’s sixth strikeout victim to keep the bases loaded with two outs, and he induced a flyout to left field by Matt Lawson to end the inning.

The offensive attack was paced by Jose Pirela’s 2-for-3 night with a run scored, a double, a hit-by-pitch and a pair of RBI. He drove home the first run of the game in the 1^st inning with a one-out double to left field that rattled off the left field wall. It scored Reegie Corona who had just doubled before Pirela, to give Trenton a 1-0 lead. Pirela then scored on Kyle Roller’s RBI single past the drawn-in second baseman Ronny Rodriguez for a 2-0 lead.

Trenton would stretch their lead from 2-0 to 5-0 in the bottom of the 5^th inning thanks to a two-run double by Ramon Flores- who extended his season-long hitting streak to 12 games. Two batters later, Pirela doubled home Flores for the Thunder’s fifth run of the game.

Trenton used reliever Tommy Kahnle for the final two scoreless frames to slam the door on the ballgame which took 2:43 in front of 3,917 fans at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The Thunder return to the field for a three-game series against the Harrisburg Senators beginning Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. LHP Jeremy Bleich (1-1, 2.98) pitches for the Thunder against LHP Robbie Ray (4-1, 3.20). Limited tickets are still available atwww.trentonthunder.com.tickets. Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 6:45 p.m. 

--THUNDER--

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