Friday’s News & Notes — Playoff Edition

Trenton 11 Harrisburg 4
• Karns (L, 1-1) 2⅔ IP, 4H, 5R, 5ER, 3BB, 2K, HBP, WP
• Grace 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Hague 3-4, R, BB, RBI
• Burns 2-4, BB, SB

It’s a painful sight to see — the opposing team celebrating on your home field — but tip your caps to Trenton, who beat Harrisburg 11-4 to win the Eastern League Championship Series. They swept the two division champions by a composite score of 35-16 over six games. The Senators briefly led 1-0 after an RBI single by Justin Bloxom in the 1st, but an epic third-inning meltdown sealed the deal for the Thunder. Nathan Karns worked around walks in the 1st and 2nd innings but couldn’t get the third out in the 3rd, allowing six straight to reach base with two outs beginning with a hit batsman. A single (one run), wild pitch (2nd run), triple (3rd run), double (4th run), and a walk followed to chase Karns. Matt Swynenberg walked a pair to complete the five-run 3rd, then surrendered a two-run shot in the 5th. Harrisburg plated two in their half of the 6th to pull within four at 7-3 but Trenton piled on with another homer in the 8th and three more in the 9th. Harrisburg answered with one in the last of the 9th but it was way too little and way too late.

Savannah 6 Hagerstown 0
• Turnbull (L, 1-1) 5+ IP, 9H, 6R, 6ER, 2BB, 3K
• Harper 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K, 2-0 IR-S
• Lippincott 1-3, BB
• Pleffner 1-4, 2B

Gabriel Ynoa lived up to his billing as the Sally League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher, tossing seven scoreless innings as Savannah shut out Hagerstown, 6-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Sally League Finals. The slender 20-year-old allowed just four hits and one walk, striking out five for the win. Suns pitcher Kylin Turnbull was touched for all six Sand Gnat runs on nine hits and two walks over five-plus innings. Bryan Harper and Justin Thomas combined for three innings of no-hit relief, but the offense, which threatened early with a pair of doubles in the first two innings, stagnated after Isaac Ballou’s two-out single in the 5th with nine up and nine down until Tony Renda reached on a two-out error in the 8th. Bryan Lippincott was only other Hagerstown batter to reach base twice, drawing a walk in the 1st and singling in the 9th.