Trenton Thunder Beats Williamsport 6-2

August 1, 2022

The Trenton Thunder improve to .500 again going 23-23 on the season beating Williamsport 6-2 before heading for a road trip. The fan attendance yesterday was 3,318 which is a great turnout on a Sunday. Joe Joe Rodriguez had a bounce back start with Trenton Thunder as the offense was huge for him, and bullpen came in to shut the door.

This was a good team win for the Thunder as they have a day off today and play Frederick on the road Tuesday. The staff at Trenton Thunder does a fantastic job keeping the fans engaged into the game.

Rodriguez got the win (2-2 2.17 era) going 6.0 innings and allowed six hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and one strikeout. He needs to cut down on the walks but overall, a great start for him. Jose Ledesma was the first pitcher out of the bullpen, allowing only one hit in his 1.0 inning of work. Christian Capuano pitched a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout. DJ Wilkinson closed the game with a walk and a strikeout in the ninth innings. Here are the total numbers combined 9.0 innings, seven hits, two runs (one earned), four walks and three strikeouts.

The offense was more balanced yesterday, as the Thunder was able to get huge hits against Williamsport pitching, work the count, get runners in scoring position and took advantage of the error. Dillin Espinal went 1-fo-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Damien Yenzi scored twice and picked up a pair of hits in hs five at-bats.

Kolby Blanchard went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Paul Coumoulos picked up a pair of hits and drove in two runs. Christian Merriwether was perfect on the day as he went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, along with a run scored and an RBI. Mark Herron went 1-for-4 with two RBIs to round out the offense. The Thunder's batting totals come out to 34 at-bats, six runs, 10 hits, six RBIs, five walks and eight strikeouts.

Jersey Sporting News did a pregame interview with former MLB pitcher and current Trenton Thunder's pitching coach Shawn Chacon before the game yesterday. He talked about what's it like helping these young pitchers now after his career, some of his best moments as a pitcher, the talent in the MLB Draft League, the routine they go thru before each start, being from Colorado, adjusting to stadiums and Cole Patten, who Jersey Sporting News got to talk to before getting drafted to the Detroit Tigers.

Jersey Sporting News also did a postgame interview with yesterday's starting pitcher Rodriguez, who had a bounce back start. He talked about his performance, the team's win, having Shawn Chacon as a pitching coach, being part of Trenton Thunder, talking about the offense stepping up for him scoring runs and carrying that momentum. Rodriguez also talked about how to cut down the walks.

After this start, look for Rodriguez to have the confidence in his next start working thru some things and keep the momentum going. He has great stuff, once Rodriguez has control of his stuff it's unhittable at times. Hopefully some MLB teams give him a chance because he deserves it and works hard every day.