FL Windy City ThunderBolts

ThunderBolts Outlast Crushers in Slugfest

Published on August 28, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release


AVON, OH - The ThunderBolts scored five runs in the fourth inning and six in the seventh to pull away from the Lake Erie Crushers and capture game one of a three-game series 15-9 at Sprenger Stadium Tuesday night.

Lake Erie 946-45) jumped on the board first, scoring two runs in the first and one in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Zach Racusin had two RBI hits for the Crushers.

The ThunderBolts (39-52) took their first lead when they sent 11 men to the plate in their big fourth. Terrance Robertson and Omar Obregon hit two runs singles and Axel Johnson hit a sacrifice fly. At one point, seven consecutive hitters reached base.

With single runs in the fourth and fifth, the Crushers tied it up at five before the ThunderBolts took the lead for good in the sixth inning. After Omar Obregon walked, Tim Zier reached on an error and Tyler Straub's sacrifice fly put the Bolts ahead.

They added six runs to their lead the next inning. Larry Balkwill started it off with a home run, and Obregon, Zier, Johnson and Straub all ended up with RBI singles to balloon the lead to 12-5.

The Crushers' last comeback attempt resulted in four runs in the bottom of the seventh as Racusin hit an RBI double and Bryan DeLaRosa scored a run on a base hit. The rally was halted with two men on base, though, and the Bolts pulled away in the eighth.

Axel Johnson's two-run double was followed by a Balkwill RBI single that made the score 15-9. Balkwill and Terrance Robertson finished with four hits apiece and everyone in the lineup had at least one. Eight of nine starters scored at least one run.

Zac Westcott (7-8) allowed seven earned runs over 6.1 innings but picked up the win while Micah Beyer (1-3) gave up six runs in 5.1 innings and took the loss.

The series continues with game two on Wednesday night. Eddie Avila (2-6, 4.62) gets the start for the ThunderBolts against Lake Erie's Alex Romero (10-6, 2.86). First pitch from Sprenger Stadium is set for 5:35 and the broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3 FM and wxav.com.

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Frontier League Stories from August 28, 2018


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