The Trenton Thunder edged the Harrisburg Senators 3-2 in ten innings Saturday night at ARM & HAMMER Park. Drew Ward tied the game with a home run in the ninth but Chris Gittens' walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth sent the Senators to their fourth straight loss.
The Trenton Thunder edged the Harrisburg Senators 3-2 in ten innings Saturday night at ARM & HAMMER Park. Drew Ward tied the game with a home run in the ninth but Chris Gittens' walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth sent the Senators to their fourth straight loss.
Starting pitchers Jaron Long and Will Carter exchanged four scoreless innings until the Senators broke through for the first run of the game in the fifth. Kelvin Gutierrez led off the frame with a single and stole second base. Later in the inning, Daniel Johnson knocked an RBI single to right to put the Senators in front 1-0.
Trenton responded by taking the lead in the bottom of the inning. Chris Gittens drove in the first run with a double to score Gosuke Katoh, who reached on an error to start the inning. One batter later, with Gittens at third, Bruce Caldwell knocked a bunt single along the third base line which allowed Gittens to score the go-ahead run.
Carter allowed one run on three hits across five innings.
Long allowed the two unearned runs on six hits while striking out six and walking one over six innings.
Trenton remained ahead by a run until the ninth. With reliever Jordan Foley on the mound and the Senators down to their final out, Drew Ward knocked an opposite field home run to left, his first of the season, to tie the game 2-2.
The game stayed tied into the bottom of the tenth, when Gittens hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to score Mandy Alvarez, the free-runner at second base to start the frame, giving Trenton the 3-2 victory.
Roman Mendez (1-1) took the loss after allowing the winning run (unearned) to score in the tenth while Foley (1-0) picked up the win despite giving up a run in two innings of relief.
Gutierrez was the only Senators with multiple hits after he finished 2-4 with a run scored and a pair of stolen bases.
The Senators and Thunder finish the series on Sunday afternoon. Luis Reyes starts for the Senators while the Thunder have not announced their starting pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at ARM & HAMMER Park.
