Thunder drops 17-6 matchup to West Virginia Black Bears

July 26, 2022

Monday's game between Trenton Thunder and West Virginia Black Bears lasted three hours and 48 minutes as both teams combined for crazy numbers. Fan attendance was low yesterday, but they still showed support for the team.

It was 88 degrees when the first pitch was thrown, but there was a little breeze. Then it got humid throughout the game. The rosters changed a lot because of the draft last week but West Virginia Black Bears were like a basketball team, most of the players being over 6 foot and some hitters hitting over .300 on the season.

The teams combined for 23 runs, 26 hits, six errors, 17 walks and 19 strikeouts in a wild game. West Virginia Black Bears hitters were consistent the whole game creating different ways on the bases to score runs, getting the pitches they wanted, taking advantage of the wild pitches, moving runners to scoring position, stealing bases and having a well-balanced offense where everyone made contributions.

Trenton Thunder's pitching was a struggle yesterday starting with Jo Jo Rodriguez got the loss (1-2, 2.30 era) now on the season going 2 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, five runs (three earned), five walks and three strikeouts. Rodriguez didn't have his command and couldn't locate his pitches.

The bull pen was also a struggle for Trenton Thunder as they try to figure out which fits best for rest of season. Jose Ledesma went 2 1/3 innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts. Ryan Sandberg 1.0 innings, 2 runs, 2 er, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts (9.00 era). Niko Leontarakis went 0.2 innings and allowed five hits, three runs, zero walks and one strikeout.

Alec Whaley pitched 0.2 innings, allowing two hits, four runs, two walks and one strikeout. DJ Wilkinson went 0.2 innings and only allowed one hit. Conner VanCleave closed the game as he allowed two hits, three runs, two walks and a strikeout in his inning of work. The pitching needs to get better quickly and cutting down on the mistakes.

Trenton Thunder's offense was inconsistent yesterday scoring six runs and picking up only seven hits. They couldn't get anything going to score more than 6 runs, didn't put the pressure on West Virginia earlier in the game and swung at pitches too soon. The Thunder were able to force walks but couldn't get the runners in. The offense needs to be more balanced scoring more than 6 runs because yesterday's game showed that having that type of situation is not enough sometimes. This is where the manager or a player should give a motivational speech, get ready for the next game and forget about this one.

Turner Hill a center fielder from West Virginia Black Bears had an unbelievable game against the Trenton Thunder. He went 5-5, scored four times, drove in a run and walked twice to bring his average to .429 and an OPS of 1.000. He has one of the highest batting averages at .429 along with his teammate catcher J.C. Santini. It's rare sometimes to this type of game from a hitter throwing a perfect game like a pitcher. This will game give him the confidence going forward and potentially being player of the week if he keeps this up. Hill is definitely a name for watch as teams look for more players and sign them to contracts.