The Man on the Mound

Bryce Mangene dominated for four innings and pitched into the sixth as the Generals scored a big 8-4 win last night over the Quakertown Blazers in Atlantic College Baseball League action at Moody Park.

Mangene retired the first 11 batters he faced and controlled a potent Quakertown lineup with command of his fastball, slider, and a devastating change. He tired in the fifth and lasted one batter into the sixth - understandable when you realize Bryce's first two seasons at the University of Pennsylania have totaled just five innings because the Ivy League cancelled 2021 due to lingering COVID concerns.

The Gens (7-4) had the offense going in the early innings against ACBL veteran Nolan Graber, who will take a graduate year at West Chester next season. Greg Delgado's RBI hit gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the first, Chase Conklin capped a two-out rally with a run-scoring single in the second, and Ben Petrone ripped a laser to right to drive in a run in the third.

But it was a full moon night and the game pretty much played out that way from there. Trenton scored five more runs - and all five scored due to errors, walks, wild pitches, or just flat out weirdness.

The final run was the most bizarre of all as two straight Gens reached first on dropped third strikes. On the second, Mark McNelly whiffed on a ball in the dirt and time seemed to stand still for a second before McNelly ran down to first. The catcher went for a swipe tag and missed and the ball trickled out of his glove towards the mound. Graber picked up the ball, threw wide to first, McNelly was safe, and Zev Moore (who also reached base on a dropped 3rd strike, stole second, and advanced to third on an E2) waltzed home with Trenton's final run.

Trenton is back in action tonight as the Gens host the Jersey Pilots (6-3) for the early-season Wolff Division lead at 7 PM. The teams will also meet in a DH Sunday at Noon.