Yard Goats Hit Job Not Enough To Defuse Thunder

Hartford, CT- The Hartford Yard Goats had their hitting shoes on Tuesday night but it wasn't enough to stop the first place Trenton Thunder or New York Yankee Aaron Hicks. The Yankees' affiliate downed the Yard Goats, 7-4, despite being outhit by Hartford 13 to 8. The Yard Goats played in front of their sixth straight sellout crowd, 6,817. It was also the 26th sellout of the season and came on a night it was revealed that USA Today Sports Weekly has selected Dunkin' Donuts Park as the "2017 Ballpark of the Year." Eleven of the last 15 Yard Goats home games have been sellouts. The club has drawn 289,579 so far in 2017.

The game was highlighted by a wild, 31-minute first inning. Trenton sent eight men to the plate, scoring four runs; the big blow an upper deck grand slam by lefty hitting Mike Ford. But the Yard Goats came right back, sending nine men to the plate and scoring four runs on six hits. The first five batters in the inning reached on hits, highlighted by a run-scoring double by Ashley Graeter, an RBI-single by Brian Mundell. Max White's two-run single with two outs tied the game, 4-4.
Trenton took a 5-4 lead with an unearned run in the third inning and then added insurance runs in the fifth on a home run by Thairo Estrada and a bases loaded walk to Zach Zehner in the seventh inning.
Mundell led the Hartford attack with three hits. Omar Carrizales, Jan Vázquez and White each had two hits.. The Yard Goats left 10 men on base and struck out 13 times. Hicks, who once played for the New Britain Rock Cats, went 1-for-4 on a rehabilitation assignment for the Yankees' affiliate.
Parker French, who absorbed the loss, settled down after the first inning, pitching 6.2 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out four. 
Game two of the series is Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. Konnor Wade will pitch for the Yard Goats against Will Carter for the Thunder in a battle of righthanders. The game will be broadcast on AM 1410 WPOP and iHeart Radio.