The Raptors and Thunder squared off Monday night at Mullen Field with both teams looking to check one off in the win column.

The Raptors jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st, but the Thunder struck back with a run of their own when Luke Seitz singled to score Colby Spence, who tripled earlier with a shot to deep right field. The Raptors took a 3-1 lead into the 4th after timely hitting and hustle plays from Harry Condon, Bryce Shaw, and Jack Doherty.  But the Thunder echoed again, scoring 2 runs on hits by Nicky and Joey Ulbricht and Dylan Murtie.

Cooper Statires took the mound for the Raptors and pitched 2 solid innings to start, as Raptors pitchers Statires, Grayson McLean and Andrew Drake combined for an impressive 12 strikeouts, backed by solid defense by Alex Barrile and Ben Sattarzadeh.  The Thunder was backed by strong defense of their own, and Thunder pitchers Luke Seitz, Tanay Patlolla, Qole Simpson and Dylan Murtie battled to keep the score knotted at 3 heading into the fifth inning.

With two on and two out, Dylan Murtie hit a line drive double to left centerfield, scoring Colby Spence and Joey Ulbricht to give the Thunder a 5-3 lead, who turned to their closer Thomas Lentine to pitch the 6th.  The Raptors were able to load the bases on hits by JD Souza and Matt Melkonian, but Lentine was able to corral the Raptors and secure the victory for the Thunder.

Posted in AA Recaps