ThunderBolts Tame Grizzlies in Pitchers' Duel
July 11, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release
CRESTWOOD, IL - Will Armbruester pitched six strong innings and JJ Figueroa knocked in two runs to guide the ThunderBolts to a 2-1 win over the Gateway Grizzlies at Ozinga Field Thursday night.
Armbruester allowed six hits and three walks but pitched around the through the first five innings as he exchanged zeros with Gateway starter Collin Sullivan.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Bolts (21-23) snapped the shutout thanks to a leadoff double from Kingston Liniak. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Figueroa sacrifice fly.
Gateway (30-23) wasted no time in responding, dinging Armbruester for the first time in the top of the sixth. David Maberry singled and moved to third on a Jack-Thomas Wold double. DJ Stewart then tied the score on an RBI single. The Grizzlies had runners at the corners with one out but were unable to take the lead.
In the seventh, the Bolts took the lead back for good. Liniak singled and moved to second on an error. Joe Johnson bunted him to third and Figueroa followed with a grounder to first base. The throw came home but Liniak beat the tag to make the score 2-1.
Caleb Riedel (2-1) pitched two shutout innings of relief and was credited with the win while Sullivan (5-4) was the tough-luck loser. He allowed two runs over 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts.
Tyler LaPorte locked up his fourth save of the year, striking out two over a scoreless ninth inning.
The ThunderBolts wrap up the first half of the season with a weekend trip to Schaumburg for a three-game series against the Boomers. Ruddy Gomez (0-3, 5.06) starts the opener for the Bolts against Schaumburg's Aaron Glickstein (3-4, 6.14). First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 6:30 CDT and the broadcast can be found through wcthunderbolts.com.
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