Van Kirk Homers in 7-1 Loss to Trenton

May 18, 2012 - Eastern League (EL) New Hampshire Fisher Cats

MANCHESTER, NH. - Brian Van Kirk extended his hitting streak to a season-best six games with a long home run in the fourth inning, but the Trenton Thunder (20-18) stole the first of a three-game series with a 7-1 win over the Fisher Cats on Friday night (16-23). The loss is just the Fisher Cats' fourth in ten games against the Thunder to begin a seven-game homestand.

Van Kirk's second blast of the season came with the Fisher Cats trailing 6-0 in the fourth inning. With two outs, Van Kirk took Mikey O'Brien deep into the Dinner in the Den to put New Hampshire on the board. Van Kirk finished the game 1-4, and now has 10 hits over his six-game streak.

The Fisher Cats fell behind, 4-0, in the first inning as Yohan Pino (3-1) gave up a pair of home runs in the first frame. He lasted just 5.0 innings, allowing all seven Thunder runs on seven hits and a season-worst four walks.

Mikey O'Brien (1-0) earned the win for the Thunder in his Double-A debut, tossing seven innings of one-run ball.

The series continues on Saturday night at 7:05 PM with Irish Heritage Night. The first 1,500 fans will receive a Fisher Cats Irish Cap courtesy of Coca-Cola. Fans can also win prizes by playing USA Subs Baseball Bingo. For tickets and a full list of this week's promotions, visit www.nhfishercats.com.

The pitching match-up on Saturday features RHP Randy Boone (0-1, 9.64) against Trenton RHP Adam Miller (1st start). Radio coverage begins at 6:45 PM with Tom Gauthier and Bob Lipman on the WGIR Fisher Cats Radio Network and www.nhfishercats.com.

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