With one last chance to force a fifth game, Trenton got some life with two outs. A single by Maruszak gave them a batter and Murphy and Mahoney both drew walks, loading the bases. Unfortunately, Rob Segedin couldn’t keep the rally going, grounding into a force out at second and ending the game with Akron on top 6-1 and taking the EL crown.
Bronx Cheers:
Ramon Flores, David Adams, Rob Segedin: Each went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Segedin left two runners in scoring position. Flores had an error.
Ryan Pope: In just 0.1 innings of work, Pope gave up three runs on two hits and two walks.
Curtain Calls:
Addison Maruszak: He was arguably one of the most consistent players for Trenton this season and he carried that into the post season. He went 2-4, but his team couldn’t push him across the plate.
JR Murphy: He went 1-3 with a homer, the lone Thunder run. He also drew a walk and struck out once.
Nik Turley: The big lefty got stuck with the loss, but for a kid pitching in just his third Double-A start and in a do-or-die playoff scenerio, he did enough to keep Trenton in the game. He went six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Most impressively, he struck out eight. He also picked off a runner at first.
Some other notes/thoughts:
- David Aardsma threw another inning in relief, walking one but allowing no hits.
- Akron seemed to have this series right from the start. Their pitching was too strong for Trenton who struggled at the plate for most of the series. David Adams and Addison Maruszak appeared to be the only regular guys in the lineup with averages over .250.
- Tyler Austin was unlikely to play today or for the rest of the series, due to an ankle issue. It was bad enough that they had an MRI. According to Tony Franklin the injury is something Austin has been dealing with the whole season.
- Some fun facts via Josh Norris: Zoilo Almonte’s 10 RBIs in the ELCS broke Austin Jackson’s Thunder record of seven in 2008, he also took the Thunder record for most RBIs in a playoff game (5).
