Thunder punch Eastern League Finals ticket

The fireworks had ended, the stands had emptied and the Finals-bound Trenton Thunder decided to take a swim.

Dante Bichette hit a solo homer and No. 8 Yankees prospect Miguel Andujar added an RBI double as the Thunder won the best-of-5 Eastern League semifinals with a 3-2 victory over Reading. Afterward, many players decided to celebrate by jumping into the swimming pool beyond the right field fence at FirstEnergy Stadium.

"This is what it's all about, trying to win a championship." Trenton manager Bobby Mitchell said, after admitting with a laugh that he didn't jump in himself. "We're really happy to be in the position we're in."

Bichette started the scoring with his two-out blast in the second inning, his first of the playoffs. The 23-year-old first baseman batted .385 and drove in five runs in the series, leading Mitchell to dub him the team's offensive MVP.

"He stepped up big-time," the skipper said. "He was our hottest hitter. He did a fantastic job. I think the home run he hit to put us ahead, 1-0, kind of got us rolling a little bit confidence-wise."

Thunder starter Caleb Smith (1-0) allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over five innings.

Pitching carried the Thunder in the series against the Eastern League's top offense, especially the threesome of top Phillies prospects Jorge Alfaro (No. 4), Dylan Cozens (No. 7) and Rhys Hoskins (No. 13). After combining for 93 homers and 308 RBIs during the regular season, they managed four homers in the series, three of which came in the Fightin Phils' 13-5 victory in Game 3.

"That's been our MO all year," Mitchell said. "We kept games close with our pitching and our defense and then our bullpen takes over."

After Andujar put Trenton ahead, 3-1, with a run-scoring double in the fifth, Reading pulled within one on Christian Marrero's RBI groundout off Travis Hissong in the seventh. J.P. Feyereisen -- whom Mitchell called his most valuable pitcher during the series -- delivered a scoreless eighth. Tyler Jones came on for the ninth and struck out Mitch Walding, No. 14 Phillies prospect Scott Kingery and K.C. Serna to clinch the victory.

The Thunder will take on Altoona or Akron in Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship on Monday.

"We have some goals and we haven't quite reached it, but we're through the first stage," Mitchell said. "We beat a very good team that had the best record in the league. For us to come in and move on, it's a big credit to the players and my staff."

In other Eastern League playoff action

Altoona at Akron (postponed)