ThunderBolts Snap Losing Skid in Doubleheader Split
August 25, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release
JOLIET, IL - After losing a late tie in game one of a doubleheader against the Joliet Slammers, the ThunderBolts snapped their ten-game losing streak with a 7-4 win in game two at Silver Cross Field Thursday night.
In game one, Mike Garza began the scoring for the Slammers (46-40) in the second inning. He followed a Melvin Rodriguez single with a two-run homer.
Larry Balkwill tied it two innings later, coming up with a big hit for the ThunderBolts (37-49). With two outs in the fourth, Ransom LaLonde and Kyle Wood singled before Balkwill doubled them both in.
Joliet found some two-out magic of their own in the fifth. Marc Flores drew a walk to extend the inning and Gronsky doubled him in with the winning run.
Both starting pitchers went the distance with Shane Bryant (5-2) taking the win. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out five. Kyle Von Ruden (1-5) suffered the loss, allowing seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The ThunderBolts jumped out to a quick lead in game two. The first four batters reached base and Coco Johnson and Corey Bass each picked up RBI hits.
They added a run in the second when Balkwill reached on a walk and later came in to score on a Taylor Smart groundout. In the third inning, Ransom LaLonde was hit by a pitch and Kyle Wood hit his second home run of the year to make the score 6-0.
Joliet scored single runs in the third and fourth but the Bolts kept up the offense. They plated a seventh run when LaLonde singled and Wood singled him in to go ahead 7-2.
A home run for Zarley Zalewski in the sixth made it 7-3 but the Slammers managed just one more run, on a double play in the seventh.
Jake Stolley started and allowed one earned run over 3.2 innings but Austin Delmotte (3-0) picked up the win, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings. Connor McLaughlin (0-1) allowed six runs in three innings in his pro debut for the loss.
The ThunderBolts begin their final homestand of the year on Friday night as they open a three-game series with the Schaumburg Boomers. Clay Chapman (7-7, 3.70) will start for the Bolts against Schaumburg's Seth Webster (7-8, 3.95). Chicago Dueling Pianos will perform postgame at Standard Bank Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 and the broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3 FM and wxav.com.
Game Date: 08/25/2016 Windy City ThunderBolts 2 AT Joliet Slammers 3
YTD YTD Windy City AB R H BI AVG Joliet AB R H BI AVG Zier, T 2B 4 0 1 0 .266 Rodriguez, A SS 3 0 1 0 .290 Smart, T 3B 2 0 0 0 .232 Flores, M LF 2 1 0 0 .286 Bass, C C 3 0 0 0 .257 Bates, P LF 0 0 0 0 .227 Keefer, C LF 3 0 1 0 .249 Gronsky, J 3B 3 0 1 1 .295 LaLonde, R SS 2 1 1 0 .254 Bell, C 2B 3 0 1 0 .323 Wood, K DH 2 1 1 0 .234 Rodriguez, M RF 3 1 1 0 .271 Balkwill, L 1B 3 0 1 2 .216 Garza, M 1B 3 1 2 2 .240 Thurber, C RF 3 0 0 0 .205 Staley, J C 3 0 1 0 .251 Williams, J CF 3 0 1 0 .247 Zalewski, Z DH 3 0 0 0 .268 White, C CF 2 0 0 0 .252 25 2 6 2 25 3 7 3
Windy City 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 6 0 Joliet 0 2 0 0 1 0 x - 3 7 0 2B--Zier, T 2B (12), Balkwill, L 1B (11), Williams, J CF (7), Gronsky, J 3B (21). HR--Garza, M 1B (1). RBI--Balkwill, L 1B 2 (12), TOTALS 2 (0), Gronsky, J 3B (63), Garza, M 1B 2 (3), TOTALS 3 (0). HP--Smart, T 3B (6). SH--LaLonde, R SS (0). SB--Bell, C 2B (3). LOB--Windy City 5, Joliet 5. DP--J. Gronsky(3B) - M. Garza(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Windy City Von Ruden, K (L,1-5) 6.0 7 3 3 1 5 1 3.89 6 7 3 3 1 5 1 Joliet Bryant, S (W,5-2) 7.0 6 2 2 1 3 0 4.12 7 6 2 2 1 3 0 HB--Bryant, S (6). SO--Wood, K, Balkwill, L, Thurber, C, Flores, M, Gronsky, J, Rodriguez, M, Staley, J, White, C. BB--Wood, K, Flores, M. BF--Von Ruden, K 26 (169), Bryant, S 28 (275). P-S--Von Ruden, K 70-47, Bryant, S 68-47. T--1:37.
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