Kent and Lovullo lead the way, 'Dogs beat Trenton 7-2

Portland, Maine - The Sea Dogs (27-45) rode a strong start from Matt Kent and some early offense to power their way to a 7-2 victory over the Trenton Thunder (41-31) in the series opener on Friday night at Hadlock Field.

Matt Kent (W, 5-4) worked his fifth straight quality start to earn the victory. The southpaw allowed just one run on five hits over six innings, he walked two and punched out four.
Portland grabbed an early lead with two runs in the second on singles by Tate Matheny and Nick Lovullo off of Trenton starter Ryan Bollinger (L, 3-3).
Josh Ockimey hit a two-run homer - his 11th - in the third inning to extend the Portland lead to 4-1. Jhon Nunez added a two-run shot of his own the very next inning, hitting the light tower above the Maine Monster in left field. The home run was Nunez's first in Double-A and made it a 6-1 game.
Lovullo added another RBI single in the fifth and finished the game 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored.
Bollinger allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4+ innings, he walked two and struck out four.
Matthew Gorst made his Double-A debut in the seventh pitching in relief of Matt Kent. Gorst worked two scoreless frames and allowed one hit and walked one, he also fanned one.
Trenton scored in the third on a solo homer by Mandy Alvarez. The Thunder added another run in the ninth on a bloop double by Gosuke Katoh and a throwing error by Jeremy Rivera.
Portland and Trenton Thunder (Yankees affiliate) have a 6:00 PM first pitch on Saturday night at Hadlock Field. RHP Teddy Stankiewicz (5-6, 5.35) is on the mound for Portland. Trenton counters with RHP Dillon Tate (4-2, 3.11).
Saturday is Be the Match Night at Hadlock Field! Tickets are available at seadogs.com or 207-879-9500.
Radio coverage begins at 5:45 PM on the WPEI U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network. MiLB.TV starts at 5:55 PM.