Former VCU standout and current Trenton Thunder hurler Kyle Haynes baffled the Squirrels and bested his counterpart Sam Coonrod in a 2-1 contest on Tuesday night at The Diamond. Haynes, retuning to his collegiate home park,twirled seven innings to earn the victory. The righty allowed just one run on a pair of hits with eight strikeouts. The Squirrels (47-68) righty Sam Coonrod was nearly as sharp, allowing only one run over six innings in a no-decision. San Francisco Giants lefty Josh Osich suffered the loss in the outing, allowing a run in his first rehab appearance.
The Thunder utilized a pair of soft liners against Richmond starter Sam Coonrod to take a 1-0 lead in the first. Abiatal Avelino singled to right and Miguel Andujar followed suit, pushing Avelino to third. Mike Ford then chopped a ball to first base, resulting in a fielder’s choice and 1-0 Trenton lead. Coonrod limited the damage to just the one run in the inning and used 20 pitches in the first.
Former VCU standout Kyle Haynes returned to The Diamond to face the Squirrels and was sharp in his homecoming. Haynes needed just nine pitches to retire the side in the first inning and did not allow a base runner through the first three innings of the outing.
Richmond managed a run against Haynes in the fourth inning, tying the game, 1-1. Steven Duggar led off the frame with a walk and stole second to reach scoring position. After a walk and fielder’s choice, Chris Shaw looped a base hit into left field to even the score. The run turned out to be a blip on the radar for Haynes, as the righty allowed just the run on two hits over seven innings of work. He struck out eight and tossed 94 pitches in the victory.
Sam Coonrod matched Haynes through six innings and received a no-decision despite a quality start. Coonrod was lifted in the seventh for San Francisco Giants left-hander Josh Osich. Osich as also made his return to The Diamond in a rehab appearance but struggled to find the zone early and walked the first two hitters before picking up a ground out. Osich then walked the next batter to load the bases and end his outing after 20 pitches. Righty Tyler Mizenko then entered in atight spot and nearly escaped the jam. Mizenko induced an infield fly for the second out and ran the count full on the next hitter Mike Ford. Miizenko couldn’t finish off Ford, issuing a walk for the second and decisive run.
Mizenko returned for the eighth inning and struck out the side. Lefty reliever Christian Jones tossed a scoreless ninth inning to keep the score, 2-1. Trenton’s Haynes handed the ball to Matt Wotherspoon for the final two innings. Wothrspoon earned the save and struck out three in the process.