Tate Cruises With Early Support In 8-2 Win

ALTOONA, PA --- The Thunder jumped out to an 8-1 lead after four innings and Dillon Tate went five innings in an 8-2 win over the Altonna Curve on Thursday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
For the second straight night, the Thunder scored three times in their first at-bat. Making his Eastern League debut, Kyle Holder (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI) led off the game with a double down the first base line and advanced to third on an error by Bralin Jackson. After a walk by Devyn Bolasky, Trey Amburgey drove in the game's first run with a double to left-center. Billy Fleming followed with a sacrifice fly and Gosuke Katoh singled in Amburgey to take the early 3-0 lead. 
The Thunder struck for two more runs in the second inning with run-scoring singles off the bats of Holder and Bolasky. 
With a 5-0 lead on the board behind him, Dillon Tate fired five innings to earn his fifth win of the season. The Eastern League All-Star allowed one run in the second and struck out five. He matched a season-high with four walks and surrendered five hits during his outing. Kaleb Ort followed Tate with two innings of relief and James Reeves struck out four over two scoreless frames to finish the win for the Thunder.
The Thunder added three more runs in support of Tate in the fourth inning. Three of the first four batters in the inning singled and with two outs, Trey Amburgey brought home two with a single. Bolasky crossed home on a wild pitch to give the Thunder an 8-1 lead. 
Devyn Bolasky led the Thunder offense with his third career four-hit game. Trey Amburgey drove in three and Mandy Alvarez finished the game a home run shy of the cycle with his three-hit night.
Your Thunder continue their road trip on Friday night at 7:00pm against the Curve. RHP Michael King (2-1, 1.91) will start for the Thunder, LHP Taylor Hearn (3-5, 3.50) will go for Altoona. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:45pm on 920 AM The Jersey and online www.TrentonThunder.com/Broadcast.