South Jersey Baseball:
Thunder Give Their "Phil" to B-Mets

Saturday, May 27, 2006

By Dan Loney
Trenton Thunder Director of Public Relations

(Trenton, NJ)- Phil Hughes worked 6 1/3 strong innings and got help with a longball from C Omir Santos and three hits from 2B Gabe Lopez in a 6-3 Trenton win over Binghamton on Saturday. The game was played in front of 7,603 fans... the largest crowd of the season at Waterfront Park.

The Thunder (23-25) jumped on B-Mets starter Willie Collazo for three runs in the 1st Inning. Trenton loaded the bases with no outs and scored on a Collazo wild pitch, an RBI single from 1B Shelley Duncan and a double play ground ball. They added another run in the 2nd Inning on a sacrifice fly from Lopez. Collazo then held Trenton to one hit over the next three innings. Collazo (3-4) ended the nigh with four runs allowed over five innings. He gave up seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Hughes kept Binghamton (21-28) off the board until the 5th Inning when 2B Wilson Batista singled home SS Corey Ragsdale. The Mets added two more runs off Hughes in the 7th Inning to cut the deficit to 4-3. Hughes (2-1) allowed three runs (two earned) in 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out a season-high seven batters. Binghamton threatened again in the 8th Inning, but Justin Pope got a strikeout of Johnathan Slack to end the inning. Pope then worked a scoreless 9th Inning for his 5th save.

The Thunder put the game away with singles runs in the 7th & 8th Innings on an RBI single by Lopez and a solo homer from Santos, his 3rd homer of the year.

The series continues on Sunday at 1:35 PM. Danny Borrell (1-3, 4.39) starts for Trenton against Binghamton's Mike Pelfrey (0-1, 4.03).