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Akron forces extras, but Thunder prevail 3-2 in 10

Tyler Krieger's ninth-inning single tied the game at 2-2 and forced extra innings on Monday night at Trenton. (David Monseur)
May 15, 2018

Trenton's Chris Gittens lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10thinning Monday night, handing the Thunder a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Akron RubberDucks in the opener of a three-game series at ARM & HAMMER Park in Trenton, New Jersey.Thunder 3 RubberDucks 2 (10)WP: Kaleb Ort (1-0)

Trenton's Chris Gittens lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10thinning Monday night, handing the Thunder a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Akron RubberDucks in the opener of a three-game series at ARM & HAMMER Park in Trenton, New Jersey.
Thunder 3 RubberDucks 2 (10)
WP: Kaleb Ort (1-0) LP: David Speer (0-2) Save: None
 
Summary
Trenton's Chris Gittens lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10thinning Monday night, handing the Thunder a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Akron RubberDucks in the opener of a three-game series at ARM & HAMMER Park in Trenton, New Jersey.

Turning Point
Tied, 2-2, going to the bottom of the 10th, The Thunder (23-13) rallied for the winning run against Ducks lefty David Speer (0-2). Trenton opened the inning by moving designated runner Trey Amburgey to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Hendrix. After an intentional walk to Gosuke Katoh, Gittens, the DH and cleanup hitter, belted a deep fly ball to right that Connor Marabell caught near the warning track, easily allowing Amburgey to tag and score the winning run.
Mound Presence
The RubberDucks (21-16) used six pitchers in the game, including starter Matt Whitehouse, who worked 3.1 innings and allowed two runs (one earned). Trenton starter Dillon Tate tossed six shutout frames and struck out six. The winner was Kaleb Ort (1-0) who gave up the tying run in the ninth but survived the top of the 10th. Speer was charged with the loss, but the new minor league extra-inning rules dictate that the run against him is unearned.
Duck Tales 
Tyler Krieger ripped a game-tying single off Ort in the ninth to tie the game, 2-2. Todd Hankins delivered an RBI double in the seventh to cut the deficit to 2-1. Both rallies started with doubles by Daniel Salters. Hankins was 2-3, with a walk.
Notebook
Akron has lost all three extra-inning games this year…Trenton took a 1-0 lead on a homer by Amburgey in the third inning off Whitehouse…The Thunder made it 2-0 in the fourth when a walk by Whitehouse and a throwing error by reliever Leandro Linares set up an unearned run…The Ducks have dropped five of the last six games…Time of game: 3:03… Attendance: 3,433.
On the Pond
The RubberDucks and Thunder will play the middle game of the series on Tuesday night at 7:00. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.