Marshall Shines as Trenton Blanks Portland, 7-0

(Trenton, NJ) - Brett Marshall tossed six shutout innings and Trenton's offense pounded out 13 hits as the Thunder shutout the Portland Sea Dogs, 7-0, Thursday night in front of 3,794 fans at Waterfront Park. It was the first shutout of the season for the Thunder, who improved to 6-1 against Portland.

Marshall (4-1) allowed only two hits and one walk in his six innings of work, while three relievers combined in the seventh, eighth and ninth to finish the white-washing. Trenton exploded for five runs in the first two innings against Portland starter Chris Martin (2-3) and never looked back.

Melky Mesa started the scoring with a two-run single in the first, and two batters later Dan Brewer lined an RBI hit of his own to make the score 3-0. Cody Johnson clubbed a two-run triple against Martin in the second to extend the lead the margin to 5-0.

Martin lasted only two innings and allowed six hits and five runs, while Jeremy Kehrt relieved him and allowed two more runs in the fifth on Brewer's second RBI hit and Addison Maruszak's run-scoring double.

Maruszak paced Trenton's 13-hit attack with three, while Brewer and Luke Murton each had a pair. Portland was limited to just six hits on the night, with no player collecting more than one.

The Thunder will play game two on Friday at 7:05 pm, with right-hander Graham Stoneburner (0-0) slated to pitch for the Thunder and be opposed by Sea Dogs' southpaw Chris Hernandez (2-2). Limited tickets are available by contacting the Thunder box office at 609-394-3300 or online at www.trentonthunder.com.