Jantzen Witte smacked a ball deep to left center in the seventh inning. His Sea Dogs team was down 6-2, so maybe it wouldn’t matter if center fielder Mason Williams caught up to it.

But Williams, a man on his way back to being relevant, sprinted toward the wall and leaped – and crashed.

“My eyes were closed,” Williams said. “The wall won.”

But as Williams lay on the ground, the umpires ran out to look in Williams’ glove. They found the ball and signaled an out.

It was that kind of day for the Sea Dogs. Trenton made plays in the field and at the plate on its way to an 8-2 win over Portland on Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field.

Portland (7-10) and Trenton (10-7) split their four-game series.

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Witte had one of his team’s five hits, but just missed his second home run of the season.

“What a catch. He really sacrificed his body,” said Witte, who had run all the way to third base, before turning around to see where the ball was.

Williams, after being attended to by the trainer, remained in the game. He had two of Trenton’s 11 hits.

Portland’s Keury De La Cruz, who had not played for a week because of a leg injury, provided the Sea Dogs’ only runs with a two-run double in the sixth inning off Trenton starter Miguel Sulbaran (2-0).

Sea Dogs starter Justin Haley (0-3) continued his early struggles, allowing six runs over 42/3 innings. Haley gave up at least one hit every inning. The Thunder knocked him out in the fifth with back-to-back home runs by Aaron Judge and Greg Bird.

“Just a little inconsistency,” Sea Dogs pitching coach Kevin Walker said. “Needs to have better command of the fastball down.

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“He had a lot of success last year (1.19 ERA in six starts with Portland). A little tweaking, we’ll be right back on track.”

Judge and Bird are two of the touted Yankees prospects on this Trenton team. Williams, 23, used to be the top Yankees prospect, but has dropped down the rankings after batting .223 last season.

“I feel like I learned a lot from last year,” said Williams, who had two hits and is batting .308. “Makes it easier when you have a team like we have, when everyone is so hungry and wanting to do well.”

Portland relievers Pat Light and Dayan Diaz quieted the Thunder for 31/3 innings.

In the ninth, Trenton’s Gary Sanchez hit a two-run double off of Kyle Martin for an 8-2 lead.

NOTES: The announced paid attendance was 5,017. … The Sea Dogs host the Binghamton Mets at 6 p.m. Monday. New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and the Lombardi Trophy will make an appearance at the game. Butler will be available for autographs and fans can have their picture taken with the trophy during the game.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases


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