Thunder pull even in EL East race with 3 to play

TRENTON » The race to the EL East title may come down to the final day of the season.

And the Thunder are back into a share of first place.

In a game in which neither starter got out of the first inning and all of the runs were scored during that 45-minute slog, Trenton held on to beat Reading, 3-2, at Arm & Hammer Park on Friday night.

That result combined with New Hampshire’s 3-1 loss to Hartford put the Thunder (76-61) and Fisher Cats (75-60) in a tie atop the division. New Hampshire will play two fewer games, but Trenton has the tiebreaker thanks to a 9-8 head-tohead advantage.

Jeff Hendrix made the play of the game in the ninth with a spectacular diving catch to rob Jan Hernandez of an extra-base hit that would’ve tied the game. Hendrix also worked a bases-loaded walk in the first to push across what ended up the third and final run of the frame.

The Fighting Phils chased Thunder starter Nick Nelson before he could get three outs, but the bullpen of Jordan Foley, Phillip Diehl and Matt Wivinis delivered 8.1 innings of one-hit ball with 11 strikeouts.

Wivins recorded a five-out save for his fourth in five attempts.

Gosuke Katoh knocked in the Thunder’s first run with a sacrifice fly before Wendell Rijo and Hendrix worked back-to-back bases-loaded walks that forced Reading starter Blake Quinn from the game.