BINGHAMTON, NY – The Trenton Thunder held a 2-1 lead in the 5th inning against the Binghamton Mets, but heralded prospect Michael Conforto smacked a two-run, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the inning off starting pitcher Joel De La Cruz for a 3-2 lead in the B-Mets 3-2 win Saturday night.
Before 3,623 fans at NYSEG Stadium, the Thunder fell behind 1-0 on an unearned run in the bottom of the 3rd inning off De La Cruz, before they rallied for a pair of unearned runs themselves off Binghamton starter Robert Gsellman in the 4th. In the inning, Trenton had Jake Cave on first base when Tony Renda grounded to Binghamton shortstop Gavin Cecchini who threw the ball into right field which put Cave at third base and extended the inning for Mark Payton. The Thunder lefty stroked a double to the left-centerfield wall to score both Cave and Renda and put the Thunder ahead 2-1.
Thunder relievers were perfect in 3.1 innings of relief in back of De La Cruz, striking out six of the 11 batters they faced. However, the Thunder rally fell short even though they had baserunners on in each of the final three innings while trailing by a run. In the 9th inning, Taylor Dugas rolled a two-out grounder through the right side of the infield to give the Thunder a chance with Cito Culver at bat. Dugas promptly stole second base, but Culver struck out to end the game with the tying run in scoring position.
The Trenton Thunder and Binghamton Mets wrap-up their four-game series Sunday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium. The Thunder send LHP Caleb Smith (8-4, 3.89) to the mound against Binghamton RHP Gabriel Ynoa (6-6, 3.87) for the scheduled 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Pre-game coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. on 91.3 FM and online at www.trentonthunder.com.
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