Connecticut Defenders Mess Up but Still Beat Trenton Thunder 5-4 - AA, Eastern League

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - NORWICH, CT - Bad defense and timely hitting apparently equals a win. The Defenders overcame a season high five errors to eclipse the visiting Trenton Thunder, 5-4.

Adam Cowart took the ball for Connecticut and started out as smooth as humanly possible. He retired the first six men he saw and struck out three.

Meanwhile, the Defenders jumped out to 1-0 lead in the first as Ben Copeland smashed a triple into the gap and Carlos Sosa followed it up with an RBI double.

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Trenton equalized the game in the top of the third as Cowart gave up a one-out double to Chris Malec who came in to score on an RBI single by Kevin Russo to tie things up, 1-1.

The Thunder would add to their lead in the top of the fourth in a very unorthodox way. The Defenders booted three balls on the infield as Colin Curtis crossed the plate on a Dave Maroul blunder to give Trenton a 2-1 advantage.

Connecticut wasted no time to get the run back because in the home half of the fourth as Antoan Richardson drove in Olmo Rosario on a flair single to center to tie the game up at 2-2.

The errant Defenders took the field in the fifth as Connecticut made two more miscues that led to another Trenton run to teeter the game back in the Thunder’s side, 3-2.

But the Defenders’ offense remained relentless. In the top of the fifth, Sosa’s offensive smorgasbord continued as he lifted an 0-2 fastball over the right-center field fence for a two-run jack to give the Defenders a 4-3 lead.

After a scoreless sixth, the Thunder brought another run home on an RBI single off the bat of Austin Jackson to even things up again, this time at 4-4.

Connecticut needed more magic from Sosa in the seventh and he conjured just that. Copeland laced a double down the left field line and Sosa ripped a 1-2 fastball into center to score the speedy Copeland from second as the Defenders took the final lead of the game, 5-4.

Sergio Romo came into the game in the ninth and was as nasty as advertised. He faced the minimum, earned his eighth save in as many tries as the Defenders took their second game in a row over the Thunder.

For Box Score, see:

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