Cozens 11th home run jump starts Fightins

John Richy (1-1) earned his first AA win of the season as the Reading Fightin Phils (27-14) defeated the Trenton Thunder (22-17) 8-7 on Friday night. Reading held off a late comeback by the Thunder.  

The Fightins took a 3-0 lead against Matt Wotherspoon (1-2) and the Thunder in the bottom of the first. Jesmuel Valentin walked with one out then moved to third on a single by Jorge Alfaro. Dylan Cozens hit a three-run home run in the following at-bat. The home run for Cozens was his 11th of the season.

Jake Fox extended the lead to 4-0 for the Fightin Phils in the bottom of the fourth. He hit a RBI double off Wotherspoon to score Rhys Hoskins. Reading scored four more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take an 8-0 lead. Aaron Brown led off the inning with a double then moved to third on an infield single from Roman Quinn. Valentin hit a two-run triple that chased Wotherspoon out of the game. 

J.R. Graham came in to pitch for Trenton in relief of Wotherspoon. He issued a walk to Alfaro then Valentin scored on a sacrifice fly from Cozens. Hoskins hit a solo home run in the following at-bat. The home run was his seventh of the season. 

Trenton chased Richy out of the game in the top of the sixth inning as Dante Bichette Jr. hit a three-run home run with two outs. Reading's lead was cut to five runs, 8-3. Richy allow three runs through 5 2/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts. Jeremy Bleich came in to pitch in relief of Richy.

Tom Windle came in to pitch in the top of the eighth inning. He allowed four runs before Hoby Milner came in the game to record the firs two outs of the inning. Miguel Nunez struck out Tyler Austin with the tying run on third base. Nunez earned his fourth save by striking out the side in the top of the ninth inning.  

The Fightin Phils and Trenton Thunder will meet again on Saturday night. First pitch is at 6:05 pm from FirstEnergy Stadium. Fans can listen to the game on Sports Radio AM 1240/FM 98.5 and fightins.com at 5:35 pm. Fans can view the game on MiLB.tv at 6:05 pm.  

Tickets for the 2016 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium.