Thunder Strike Down Sea Dogs in Series Opener 4-3
Trenton broke through first in its half of the second inning. Melky Mesa singled on a line drive to centerfield and was immediately brought home by Luke Murton's thirteenth double of the season.
The Sea Dogs evened the score at one in their half of the fourth. Dan Butler walked and advanced to second on a Drew Hedman groundout. Butler wound up on third on a wild pitch by Brett Marshall and then scored on a Peter Hissey single to centerfield.
A three run fourth inning for the Thunder put the game out of reach for the Sea Dogs. Zoilo Almonte sparked Trenton's offense in the inning with his 9th home run of the year. Two batters later Luke Murton homered (18) following a Melky Mesa single putting the Thunder in front of the Sea Dogs 4-1.
The Dogs crept a run closer in the 6th inning. Marquez Smith singled to start the frame and then took second on a Ryan Pope wild pitch. Dan Butler singled Smith to third and Smith would come around to score on a Drew Hedman sacrifice fly.
Jackie Bradley Jr. continued to be a brilliant for the Sea Dogs as he extended his hitting streak to eight games and went 3-for-5 in Saturday's affair. Bradley is now hitting at a .384 clip for the Sea Dogs since joining the club. Bradley doubled for the second time on the night in the 9th scoring Peter Hissey making the score 4-3 but that is as close as the Dogs would get.
Murton had a big day for Trenton going 3-4 racking up 3 RBI. Murton also scored a run. Kelvin Perez (3-1) got the win for Trenton and Jon Meloan picked up his second save of the season.
Portland starter Jeremy Kehrt (2-3, 5.56) went 6.2 innings for the Sea Dogs. Kehrt took the loss giving up four runs on 10 hits. He also struck out four batters and walked two. Chorye Spoone entered the game in relief of Kehrt in the seventh and finished the game for Portland tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Prime Motor Group Player of the Game: Jackie Bradley Jr., 3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI
The Sea Dogs will face the Trenton Thunder in game two of the three-game set Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:05 PM. The Sea Dogs starting pitcher has yet to be determined. Trenton will send left handed pitcher Shaeffer Hall (7-6, 3.79) to the mound. Catch all the Sea Dogs game action on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs radio network with 95.5/05.9 FM serving as the flagship station.
The Sea Dogs will return home following the all-star break for an eight game homestand. Portland will face the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays) starting Thursday June 12th at 7:00 PM and will finish with a three game set against the Reading Phillies (Philadelphia Phillies). Tickets are available for all remaining Portland Sea Dogs 2012 home games. Book your nine inning vacation today by calling the Sea Dogs ticket office at 207-879-9500 or logging on to www.seadogs.com.