
ThunderBolts Shut Out in Second Half Opener
July 19, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release
JOLIET, IL - Zac Westcott became the Frontier League's all-time winningest pitcher with seven shutout innings Friday night as the Joliet Slammers defeated the ThunderBolts 1-0 in the opener of a three-game series at Duly Health and Care Field.
Will Armbruester started strong for the ThunderBolts (21-38), retiring the first five batters of the game. He ran into trouble with back-to-back two-out base runners in the second inning but pitched out of the jam.
The Slammers (27-31) got to him in the third. Liam McArthur singled and Jeissy De La Cruz walked to put two runners on base with two outs. Matthew Warkentin followed with an RBI single to make the score 1-0.
Armbruester was not challenged the rest of the night as he didn't give up another hit and retired the last eight batters he faced.
Westcott, though, was even better. The former ThunderBolt ace was threatened only once. Joe Johnson led off the fifth for the Bolts by reaching on an error and Kingston Liniak hit an infield single. A throwing error advanced them to second and third with no outs. Westcott retired the next three batters to keep the lead and the ThunderBolts didn't put another man in scoring position.
For Westcott (6-4) the win was the 52nd of his Frontier League career, surpassing Aaron Ledbetter's league record. He allowed only two hits over seven innings.
Armbruester (2-6) was a tough-luck loser, giving up just three hits and striking out four over six frames.
Jacob Morin pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save.
The series continues with game two on Saturday night. Buddie Pindel (5-4, 1.99) gets his first start since Wednesday's all-star game for Windy City. First pitch from Duly Health and Care Field is scheduled for 6:05 CDT and the broadcast can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.
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Frontier League Stories from July 19, 2024
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