SENATORS GAME RECAP

RHP Josh Hall sparkled in his second start of the season, holding the Trenton Thunder at bay in an 8-4 Harrisburg Senators win Friday at Waterfront Park in Trenton. Luke Montz drilled a three-run homer in a five-run top of the ninth to give Harrisburg a cushion.

The Senators jumped on top in the top of the second inning. Yurendell de Caster ripped a leadoff double and scored when Andrew LeFave tripled to the gap in right-center. Montz stroked an RBI single to left to plate LeFave and make it 2-0 Senators.

De Caster struck again in the top of the sixth, slicing a home run just inside the right-field foul pole to make it 3-0.

Trenton got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Hall walked Reegie Corona to start the inning. He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Jose Tabata. Trenton cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth on Colin Curtis’s run-scoring single.

Harrisburg extended the lead in the top of the ninth. A double by Luis Jimenez plated a run to make it 4-2. De Caster was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and LeFave bounced into an RBI fielder’s choice. Montz followed by blasting a three-run homer to extend the lead to 8-2.

The Senators appeared to have a safe lead, but Trenton did not go quietly in the ninth. The Thunder scored a pair of runs to make it 8-4, and brought the tying run to the plate before Tim Bittner came on to strike out Curtis and end the game in a steady rain.

Hall picked up the win, going 5.2 innings and allowing a run on two hits and two walks while striking out four. Bittner notched his first save of the season. Phil Coke took the loss to drop to 0-1. Harrisburg has won three in a row and moves to 6-2. The Thunder falls below .500 to 4-5.