(Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder, the Double A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced on Monday the hiring of six new Front Office Staff members in preparation for the 2012 season.  Opening Day is April 5 at home against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays).   

 

The staff additions begin with Josh Maurer who will join 2011 Ballpark Digest Broadcaster of the Year Jay Burnham in the radio booth this season.  Maurer and Burnham combine to give the Thunder a broadcast team with 18 years of professional sports broadcasting experience.  All 142 games will once again be broadcast live on WTSR 91.3 FM and trentonthunder.com with select games heard on WBCB 1490 AM.   

Maurer joins the Thunder after spending the past four years at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst as the Voice of the Minutemen and Assistant Athletic Director for Broadcasting.  There he called play-by-play for UMass football, men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse on both radio and television in addition to hosting and producing weekly television and radio shows.  Maurer, 31, was honored by the Associated Press in each of the last two years for the “Best College Sports Play-by-Play” in the region.

Maurer made a pair of stops in baseball prior to his time at UMass.  He served as the voice of the Charleston RiverDogs, the New York Yankees' Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League from 2005-2008.  In 2003, he served as a broadcaster and a media relations assistant for the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League.

Maurer's career has also included calling football and men's basketball games at Charleston Southern University, basketball play-by-play for the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES) and various sports at his alma mater, the University of Maryland in College Park.  He has worked in sports television production in various capacities including  for ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" television show and the Philadelphia Phillies Television Network.

 

The Thunder's new Facilitator of Awesomeness is Cameron Fox of Braintree, Massachusetts .  Fox will be visible on game days as the roving emcee and coordinator of in-game contests, promotions and entertainment.   He graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May.

 

Michael Smith, of Los Angeles, California, has joined the Thunder as the new Finance Assistant.  He attended San Diego State University and previously worked as an Accounting Intern for the Athletic Department of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Newtown, Pennsylvania's Kelly Wasilewski has joined the Thunder staff for the season as the Production Assistant.  The SUNY Oneonta graduate served as a game day Production Intern with Trenton last season.

 

Rounding out the new additions is a pair of Ticket Assistants for this season, Janelle Alfanoand  Tom Bopp.  Alfano is a Pemberton, NJ native and a Rutgers University graduate while Bopp hails from New Rochelle, NY and graduated from Drexel University.
  

The Thunder also announce that T.J. Jahn has been promoted to Group Sales Manager.  The Clark, NJ native attended The College of New Jersey and has served as a game day employee, intern and Group Sale Representative for the Thunder.