Thunder drop series in a pitchers duel against West Virginia

July 27, 2022

Wednesday's game was an early 11:00 a.m. eastern start between the Trenton Thunder and the West Virginia Black Bears. It was Kids Camp Day, where every summer camp in the area went to the game to enjoy the festivities. The fan attendance was 7,721, with the kids being pumped up throughout the game.

The temperature at first pitch was 82 degrees. Great pitching from both sides and clean baseball produced a quick 2-hour and 48-minute game. Trenton kept it at 1-1 until the fifth inning, where West Virginia scored two, one in the seventh and one in the ninth, as the Black Bears won 5-1.

Jeremy Cook from West Virginia Black Bears went six innings, allowing four hits, one run, one walk, and 13 strikeouts. Christian Capuano from the Trenton Thunder went five innings and allowed five hits, three runs, three walks, and eight strikeouts. He struggled in the fifth inning with location and did not finish his pitches like he did at the beginning of the game.

Jose Ledesma pitched two innings of relief for Trenton and allowed one run. Alec Whaley pitched the final two innings and allowed only one hit and one run.

The offense for the Trenton Thunder took a step back today, as they scored only one run against the Black Bears' pitching. They couldn't get anything going off of Cook, who was lights out. They only forced two walks in today's game, didn't work the count and chased pitches.

Cook had a strong game plan against Trenton Thunder, making the hitters think more. Capuano kept Trenton Thunder in the game, but the offense was not there like Tuesday's game. You'll have games when the offense or pitching struggles, but you must find ways to score.

West Virginia's offense played small ball today to score their runs, as it looked balanced, with Turner Hill having another great game as he went 3-for-4. Hill just kept on hitting during this series. The Thunder pitching got him out a few times, but he was always locked in at the plate. West Virginia was stealing bases, making the pitcher work, and scoring with runners on base throughout the series. The Black Bears' offense is dangerous. They can beat you in different ways and will hit it out with a mistake.

This series saw high-scoring games in the first two games. Wednesday's game was a pitching duel with both pitchers working quickly. It featured everything you can imagine to keep the fans engaged. That's why predicting what will happen in a baseball game is hard because sometimes you won't know what will go down.

The West Virginia Black Bears are now 27-17, while the Trenton Thunder falls to 21-22 after this series.