The North Jersey Eagles hit a rough patch in their season-opening homestand on Monday night, dropping their contest against the Trenton Generals by a score of 5-1.

Most of the Generals’ production came in the top of the 2nd inning, where they strung together quality at-bats to plate 4 runs on 7 hits off Eagles starter Justin Valdespina.

With one out in the inning, Ryan Shinn slapped a single into left field to start the rally. After singles from Matt Iantosca and Dan Marano, the Eagles recorded their second out via an outfield assist from right fielder John Kukura, who gunned down Shinn at home for the second out.

Three singles and a double later, though, Trenton (3-4) had pushed four runs across the plate to take a lead they would not relinquish.

The Eagles (2-3) made several attempts to cut into the Generals’ lead, but two spectacular plays by Shinn in left field negated some of North Jersey’s best chances.

After Kukura reached on a single in the bottom of the third, designated hitter Tolly Filotei lined a ball into left-center that looked to be an extra-base hit. However, Shinn got a great jump and sprawled out to make a diving catch for the first out, and he rifled the ball into the infield to double up Kukura for out number two.

An inning later, Shane Woelfel led off with a smooth shot down the left field line, but Shinn made a sliding shoestring catch to retire him as well.

Trenton tacked on an insurance run in the 5th inning, manufacturing three base hits into a run scored by Brian Uliana.

In the following half-inning, the Eagles were able to put a run on the board.

After singles by Kukura and second baseman Tyler Benson, North Jersey employed a double steal to perfection. The speedy Benson—who is tied for the ACBL lead with 4 stolen bases—took off and drew a throw to second from the catcher Iantosca, allowing Kukura to sprint home for the Eagles’ only run of the night.

On the play, however, Benson dove awkwardly into second base, and he immediately left the game with an apparent left shoulder injury.

From there, neither team was able to record additional runs.

Eagles relief pitchers Dan Rajkowski and Chris Baldi permitted only one hit in the final four innings of the game, but Trenton relievers Cole Creighton and Karl Blum matched those performances by allowing only a John Kukura double in the last four frames.

Kukura was the most significant offensive contributor of the night for North Jersey, going 3 for 4 with a double, run scored, and stolen base. Those three hits were his first of the season, pushing his average to .250 and his on-base percentage to .400.

North Jersey will continue its homestand on Thursday, June 11, taking on the Staten Island Tide at Overpeck Park for the second time of the young ACBL season. First pitch will be at 7:00pm, and the pregame show with Eagles broadcasters Drew Casey and Dominick Savino will begin at 6:45pm on http://mixlr.com/northjerseyeagles/.

By: Dominick Savino