As a smaller player, Kim learned at a young age to establish a rigorous work ethic for himself. While he also played football and basketball for the Langley High School Saxons, Kim knew that baseball was the sport he wanted to give his all.

Thunderbolts Assistant Coach Max “Skip” Eckert coached a six-year-old Kim in baseball clinics, and the two eventually crossed paths over 10 years later. After Kim concluded his first year at Gettysburg College, he reunited with Skip to play for the Thunderbolts. During their 2024 campaign, he was “the same Kim, but not the same skill.”

After his first summer in Silver Spring, Kim ran into his TBolts teammate Josh Erd at Bethany Beach in Delaware. With his usual beachy vibes, Erd recruited Kim to join him at Frederick Community College. One spring later, and the two were playing together as cougars.

“Playing at Frederick helped a lot,” Kim expressed. “When I got there in the fall, it was kind of like a wake up call for me. It was like, if you didn’t run hard through first, you were pulled from the game immediately. That was kind of a culture that really stuck with me.”

Kim and Erd have spent three memorable summers together in Silver Spring, and were part of a Frederick team that made the 2025 Division II JuCo World Series. Over time, the two have developed an indestructible friendship.

“I’ve never met someone that works truly as hard as he does towards anything in life. He’s made incredible improvements because he wants it, and he’ll do anything it takes,” Josh Erd shared. “He’s been there for me countless times, and he’s helped me get out of holes on and off the field in tremendous ways. He’ll always be a brother for that.”

Thunderbolts outfielder Cam Baker also played with Kim at Frederick,—and was with Erd at the beach during the FCC recruitment—but they did not see much playing time together. This summer, Kim’s family has hosted Baker, who joined the TBolts later than expected. As a result, the two had a chance to bond in a more personable way.

“Staying with him and his family, and actually getting to be out on the field with him has been a lot different,” Baker said. “I think he’s been a great leader, and he leads by example.”

Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter said being a leader was not something that came easily for Kim in his first two seasons with the team. As a veteran presence this summer, he held everyone accountable, assisted hitters with their mechanics, and aided his teammates with the mental side of the game. More importantly, Kim is always willing to help anyone struggling with off the field matters; he is “always one phone call away,” as Erd explained.

“Matthew Kim is the heartbeat of the team,” said Thunderbolts first baseman Connor Frickey. “As Matthew Kim goes, the TBolts go. He’s very dependable, and you know what he’s bringing to the ballpark every day.”

What Kim has brought to the ballpark has been consistent hitting, hustle plays, plate discipline, and drastic improvement. In 28 games this summer, the second baseman batted .292 with 26 hits, 14 RBIs, and 13 walks, which were all career highs.

On July 20, Matthew pulled off what many thought was Kimpossible. In a square-off with the Southern Maryland Senators, Kim crushed a three-run homer over North Point High School’s left-field fence. As an established singles hitter for three summers, Kim finally hammered his first home run as a Thunderbolt. In storybook style, it came in what may be his final regular season game with the team.

“I think Kimmy’s home run was the highlight [of the season],” Brock Hunter reflected. “Right before it, I turned to Stu, and I was like, ‘Hey, man, if there’s any day for Kim to do it, it’s right here.’ And the next thing you know, he hits a nuke. That’s just the coolest part about baseball.”

Coaches like Brock Hunter and Max Eckert are the reason Kim chose to return to the TBolts time and time again. More times than not, they want to see him succeed and win more than he does. This is saying a lot, considering the type of competitor Kim is.

After spending three seasons with the Thunderbolts, Kim spoke about the largest lesson he has learned.

“It’s just coming to understand that it’s about you versus you, and getting 1% better every day. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where the guy you’re facing goes to school,” he explained. “I don’t care who you are, I’m still gonna beat you. You find out how good you are, and you even surprise yourself sometimes.”

Matthew Kim has become the epitome of grit for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. As a spunky spark-plug, Kim’s work ethic, consistency, and determination on the diamond are what every baseball player should strive to replicate. If this was truly his last hoorah, then “Kimmy” can go out knowing he made a tremendous impact on his teammates and TBolts fans who watched him at work every night.

In their four regular season meetings, both teams had offensive explosions against one another. With meticulous moundsmen in a park with tough dimensions, this matchup proved to be a pitchers duel. While the TBolts had a knack for gaining early leads against the Sens this summer, they trailed the entire way last night.

After his magical 11-strikeout outing against the TBolts on Monday, pitcher Brody Juntunen (Florida Atlantic) made another monumental start for the Senators. In six innings, Juntunen allowed three hits and struck out seven TBolts. In addition, he was seemingly automatic in terms of finding the zone; the righty rifled 53 strikes compared to 26 balls.

Emilio Rodriguez (Clarion) launched his rocket on the mound for Silver Spring-Takoma. The righty threw five total innings, allowed five hits, and secured six strikeouts. Rodriguez rendered the Sens scoreless in the first two innings with three popouts, and fanned two hitters with his fastball.

Conversely, Juntunen was jostling the Thunderbolts with his breaking ball in the second; the righty got Griffin Puvel (Rider) and Nolan Kutney (UMBC) to strike out swinging in back-to-back AB’s.

In the top of the third, TBolts first baseman Connor Frickey (Babson) rocked the first hit of the contest to right field. Juntunen was not rattled in the slightest by this single. To end the frame, he forced two groundouts and corralled an additional K.

In the bottom half, Rodriguez relinquished his first hit to Bryce Palms (Youngstown State), who looped a double to left field. James Layman (Xavier) then lashed a single to left-center to score Palms. To end the third, Rodriguez pumped his fastball to retire Cole Rhame (Richmond) on strikes.

In the fourth, Caleb Sturtevant (Millersville) drew a walk and stole his first base of the playoffs. With Griffin Puvel (Rider) up to the plate, Juntunen locked him with a breaker that the TBolts dugout protested was way out of the zone.

Jackson Hays drew a leadoff walk, but was immediately gunned down by catcher Kai Schmelzer (Gulf Coast State) on a stolen base attempt. Schmelzer was making his first start of the playoffs, and wasted no time showing off his cannon. To end the fourth, Ethan Adams (Georgia State) was folded by E-Rod’s curve on the outside part of the plate.

Nolan Kutney (UMBC) hit a crisp left-field single in the fifth, and scurried to second on a sac bunt by Connor Frickey (Babson). Schmelzer then worked a walk, and the Thunderbolts appeared to threaten the Southern Maryland lead. However, Juntunen retired the side by making Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) strike out on a slider.

After four fiery innings, the Senators finally made Rodriguez wrinkle in the fifth. Euart and Chase Fulford (Binghamton) both reached with singles. To make it 2-0, Rhame dumped an RBI single between a Bermuda Triangle of defenders in left-center. With the bags loaded, Rodriguez’s pitch scampered away from Schmelzer, and Fulford sprinted home to score.

To begin a hot potato 1-2 putout, Schmelzer’s toss skipped by Rodriguez who was looking to tag out Fulford at home. The pitcher then grabbed the ball, relayed a short throw back to Schmelzer, and the catcher applied the tag to a sliding Cole Rhame to record the final out.

In the top of the sixth, Trent Lopez grounded a single up the middle and off of second base bag for a single. Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) popped a flyout to right, and Lopez was dreadfully doubled down after leading too far off first.

In the sixth, Michael Preske (Cecil CC) was placed into the game to relieve Rodriguez. Preske pitched his best outing of the summer by throwing not just three scoreless, but three hitless innings.

Right-hander Will Petteys (Georgia State) pitched the eighth inning for Southern Maryland. Back to the top of the order, Gabe Pegues said hello to Petteys with a left-center field single. Sturtevant moved him over with a groundout, and Lopez lasered an RBI single to left. After a draining eight innings, the Thunderbolts finally got on the board to make it 3-1.

Senators pitcher Ryan Conrad (Villanova) came in for the save situation, and controlled the pace perfectly. The righty got Puvel to strike out, Kutney to popout, and Schmelzer to strikeout looking to conclude the game.

In a profuse pitching battle, both teams combined for 13 hits and four walks. The three Senators pitchers struck out the TBolts 10 times, while Rodriguez and Preske combined for seven K’s.

The only extra-base hit from either team came from Bryce Palms’ third inning double. Connor Frickey went 3-3 for the TBolts, and Trent Lopez went 2-4 with their lone RBI.

Head Coach Brock Hunter said after the game, “Baseball sometimes doesn’t go your way, but I think we got ourselves to a point to compete in the playoffs and play to our potential, which is about all you can ask for. The game happens, whether you like it or not.”

In the blink of an eye, the 2026 season has come to a close for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. In a summer stuffed with water balloon tosses, Kids’ Races Round the Bases, funny dugout dialogue, the Blair Stadium soundtrack, crazy catches, superb slugging, wild walk-offs, and a ridiculous amount of rain—it is safe to say that this season was a fun frenzy to be part of.

“I think everybody was friends. Everybody got along. Everybody had the same goal. The wins and losses aren’t really gonna show how our season went,” Hunter responded when asked what made this squad special compared to last year. “I think we played hard for the most part, and got better.”

With that being said, the Thunderbolts will unleash more lightning at Blair Stadium for their 27th season next summer in Silver Spring. Although the action has ended, still keep it posted to tbolts.org and the tbolts.fan Substack for additional feature stories in the next couple of days.

Tonight, the TBolts will quickly regroup to face the Southern Maryland Senators in a wild card matchup. The winner of this game will face the one-seeded Olney Cropdusters tomorrow at First Responder Field in a three-game semi-final series.

While the Sens have played at North Point High School this summer, they will use Regency Furniture Stadium—the ballpark they played at all of last season—as their stomping grounds tonight. This change of scenery will be much needed, as the TBolts have had trouble putting away the Sens all summer.

The Thunderbolts have gone up by at least three runs in all four of their games against Southern Maryland this season. However, the Sens have staked a comeback to win by exactly one run in every matchup.

In both of their duels at North Point High School, the Sens secured walk-off hits. The most recent heartbreaker came in a 7-6 loss this past Monday. Sens right fielder Kai Lwin (Florida Atlantic) crushed a second inning grand slam, and then lashed a walkoff infield single. Lwin is 4-9 with five RBIs and two walks against the Thunderbolts this summer.

As of late, Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) has been a spunky spark-plug for the Thunderbolts. The second baseman went 2-4 with an RBI triple in last night’s inspiring win over Gaithersburg. On Monday, Kim thrashed a three-run homer against the Senators for his first slam of the summer.

Outfielder Gabe Pegues went 2-2 with two walks, and smoked a leadoff homer last night. Importantly, Pegues has also seen success against Southern Maryland; the righty is 6-16 with seven RBIs, two walks, and three extra-base hits against the Senators this summer.

In their play-in victory, the Thunderbolts saw poised pitching from Jacob Seek, Wade Hartrick and EJ Youngling. Tonight, Emilio Rodriguez (Clarion) gets his turn to run the table. Although he is a newer addition to the team, Rodriguez has some of the highest volume pitching production on the team. When he lands his curveball and finagles his fastball, E-Rod is as dangerous as anyone in the Ripken League.

The Baltimore native already has two starts under his belt against Southern Maryland this summer. On June 27, Rodriguez worked five innings, allowed two hits, and struck out nine Senators; E-Rod’s nine K’s were the most thrown in a single outing by a TBolt this season. On July 16, he threw four and two-third innings, allowed three hits, and struck out five.

Besides pitching, the Thunderbolts saw success last night because the scoring was spread throughout the game. In the regular season, the TBolts had a knack for bursting out to an early lead and losing it in a flash. Last night, the defense never got complacent because Silver Spring-Takoma slowly grew their lead. If the TBolts can treat this game as a marathon rather than a sprint, they will have no trouble booking a trip to Olney.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 P.M. tonight at Regency Furniture Stadium. For those who can’t make the trek to Waldorf, tune into the Thunderbolts YouTube channel for an exciting broadcast.

Head Coach Brock Hunter harped on how crucial it would be for the Thunderbolts to score early on in this game. Considering both teams rested on Thursday, they would each be recharged and ready to rumble.

“I think we’re either gonna come out hot, or Gaithersburg is gonna come out hot—especially after a two day break. So, we’ll see what happens,” Hunter said before first pitch.

Luckily for Hunter, the first inning began with a strike of lightning from the Thunderbolts. On the third pitch of the game, Ripken League All-Star Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) parachuted a leadoff home run to left-center field. This was the first leadoff homer the Thunderbolts have hit all season, and it could not have come in a more magnificent moment.

Pegues hit his homer off Giants starting pitcher Owen Singer (Marymount). The southpaw has seen supreme success the past two seasons against Silver Spring-Takoma, but looked shaky last night. In total, Singer strummed four innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs, and three walks.

For Silver Spring-Takoma, Jacob Seek (Chesapeake) made his fourth start against the Giants this summer. With a brilliant defense behind him, the lefty looked crispy at Criswell. Seek through four and one-third innings, struck out three, allowed five hits, and surrendered two earned runs.

With runners on the corners in the top of the second, third baseman Nolan Kutney (UMBC) hit a grounder to short. Gaithersburg got the force at second, but the throw by Miguel Leon (Maryland) skipped by first base. This allowed Mason Kelleher (Frostburg St.) to score the second TBolts run of the game.

With Kutney on first in the top of the fourth, TBolts second baseman Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) crushed a triple to right-center field. After racing to third, Gaithersburg’s relay throw sailed into the Thunderbolts dugout. With Kim’s two-run little league homer, the Thunderbolts leveraged a 3-1 lead.

As Kutney and Kim crossed the plate, the crowd at Criswell Automotive Field erupted in cheers for the Thunderbolts. Although this was an “away game,” the TBolts faithful pulled through all night with creative team posters and enthusiastic chants.

Gaithersburg hit their groove in the bottom half of the fourth, as Eli Livingston (Maryland) launched a center-field sac fly to make it 4-1. Despite the run, Seek kept his composure by forcing an inning-ending groundout to Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) at shortstop.

Camacho Jr. has been a reliable third baseman all season. However, due to injuries from the infield, he has been asked to step up at shortstop as of late. Last night, the Florida native notched four fabulous assists for the Thunderbolts.

Giants pitcher Peter Bashore (St. Joseph) was summoned as a second act for Singer. To start the fifth, Bashore plunked Trent Lopez (Cornell) in the leg. Griffin Puvel (Rider) then pierced a pitch off the glove of third baseman Drew Jourdan (Frostburg St.), and Lopez bolted home to give Silver Spring-Takoma a 5-1 fifth-inning lead.

After four efficient innings, Seek tumbled into fifth-inning turbulence. Drew Cobb (Jacksonville) drew a leadoff walk, and scurried to third after Seek’s pickoff attempt sailed into foul territory. Buckles clobbered an RBI single, and Seek sequentially saw the end of his terrific night. As trudged to the dugout, his TBolts teammates gave him his flowers with showers of high fives.

Two-way TBolt Wade Hartrick (U Chicago) hit the hill, and did a superb job relieving Seek. The righty secured a quick strikeout with his slider, and forced a subsequent groundout to end the inning.

In two and two-third innings, Hartrick allowed just one hit and hurled four total strikeouts; this included back-to-back K’s to conclude the seventh. After sending Cole McKenna (Longwood) down on strikes, the Colorado native cried a scream of grit to the TBolts dugout. Hartrick clearly had emptied the tank in his best outing of the summer. After a runless performance, the righty “fell over in the bullpen dead tired,” as Brock Hunter humorously admitted.

Thunderbolts reliever Matthew Calabrese (Rider) came on to contain any kind of eight-inning comeback. After gunning down Brayden Ruiz-Weiss (Yale) in a rundown between third and home, the Thunderbolts turned an electric double play. DH Lee Turnipseed (Charleston Southern) torched a lineout right to Camacho Jr. at short; Eli Livingston leaned too far off the bag, so Camacho gunned him down with a force-out to first.

After Peter Bashore’s two-hit pitching performance, Nathan Murphy (George Washington) made his way to the mound for Gaithersburg in the ninth. Murphy issued a walk to Pegues, and Trent Lopez provided premium insurance for the Thunderbolts. The righty looped a single to right field, and Pegues pedaled all the way home for a 6-2 lead.

Up by four with three outs to go, the Thunderbolts were on the brink of beating Gaithersburg for an emphatic upset. Unfortunately,—as has been a common theme the entire year—the TBolts began to buckle under pressure. The Giants juiced the bags with a hit-by-pitch and back-to-back walks. At this point, Hunter made a call to the bullpen for Aidan Watts (Rochester) to close it out.

After a loud pop of the bat, Charlie Buckles booked a long right-field sac fly for the first out of the ninth. Cole McKenna then mashed a single off the glove of third baseman Nolan Kutney into foul territory, and the TBolts lead was trimmed to two.

Watts struggled to find the zone in his next two face-offs. Catcher Mason Kelleher did a superb job at blocking Watts’ chaotic pitches, but it was not enough to prevent back-to-back walks by Brayden Ruiz-Weiss and Drew Jourdan. Jourdan’s walk caused another run to score, making it 6-5 Thunderbolts.

In response, Brock Hunter handed the ball to EJ Youngling (Moravian) to try and wake the TBolts up from this soon-to-be nightmare. Silver Spring-Takoma had seen this scenario in their final four regular season games. After building a big lead, they had let the game get away from them, losing in heartbreaking fashion. However, last night, Youngling refused to let that nightmare become a reality.

With Goliath looming large, David slinged him a stone with the bases still loaded. Youngling registered the perfect double play ball to Camacho Jr. at short. After rolling it to Kim at second, he nailed it to Connor Frickey at first to bury the coffin at Criswell.

In total, the TBolts notched nine hits, drew six walks, and struck out seven Giants. Gabe Pegues went a perfect 2-2 with two walks, and hit the leadoff home run to set the tone for the TBolts. In the nine-hole, Matthew Kim went 2-4 with his fourth-inning RBI triple. As mentioned before, shortstop Sam Camacho Jr. and catcher Mason Kelleher were both standouts defensively at their respective positions.

In their most voracious victory of the summer, the Thunderbolts played demoralizing defense, consistently scored runs across the contest, and escaped multiple jams with poise. Not only this, but the TBolts snapped a four-game losing streak that stemmed from the end of the regular season.

“That’s what we’ve talked about all year. The regular season is what it is, we just gotta be ready for the playoffs,” Brock Hunter told Patrick Moran after the game. “Pitchers were awesome today, and the hitters made something happen every inning.”

For the second straight summer, the Thunderbolts have defeated the Giants in a do-or-die play-in game at Criswell. Next stop for Silver Spring-Takoma is Regency Furniture Stadium. In a quick turnaround, The TBolts will play the Southern Maryland Senators at 4:30 P.M. today in a Wild Card matchup in Waldorf, MD.

Tonight, the Thunderbolts are looking to repeat history. Silver Spring-Takoma (11-26) finished as this year’s eight seed, while Gaithersburg (17-21) is slotted at five. The winner of tonight’s play-in battle will advance and fight the four-seeded Southern Maryland Senators tomorrow at North Point High School.

This summer, the Giants are 5-2 against Silver Spring-Takoma; at Criswell, they are 3-1. In their seven matchups, Gaithersburg have outscored the TBolts by a combined 26 runs.

The Thunderbolts’ only win at Criswell came in a 15-2 triumph on July 3. In that game, outfielders Caleb Sturtevant (Millersville) and Griffin Puvel (Rider) each crushed early home runs, with starting pitcher Griffin Roussell (Point Park) claiming the win.

Sturtevant is a key player to look out for in the TBolts lineup. In four games against Gaithersburg, “Stu” is 8-15 with eight RBIs, five walks, and four extra-base hits. Moreover, Ripken League All-Star Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) is a player fans constantly turn their volume up for. In six games versus the Giants, Pegues is 8-24 with three RBIs, six walks, and two extra-base hits.

For Gaithersburg, Miguel Leon (Maryland) has struck the Thunderbolts with might in 2026; the third baseman is 9-21 with seven RBIs, and four walks. Something worth noting is Gaithersburg’s top two RBI leaders have seen limited action this month; Ayden Phillips (Northwest Florida State) was last seen on July 11, and Dominic Trolio (Seton Hall) has not suited up since July 13.

Tonight’s pitching duel should be an exciting one. Although he pitched just three days ago, Jacob Seek (Chesapeake) has been summoned to the hill tonight for the Thunderbolts. Seek has faced Gaithersburg three times this season, and has seen mostly success. In 11 combined innings, the southpaw has struck out 17 Giants, surrendered eight hits, and allowed five earned runs.

According to sources, right-hander Peter Bashore (St. Joseph) will toe the rubber for Gaithersburg. In seven appearances (five of them being starts), Bashore is 0-4 with a 6.45 ERA, a 1.93 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts.

As said earlier, the winner of tonight’s game faces the Senators tomorrow in Waldorf, while the loser is done for the season. First pitch is slated for 7 P.M. at Criswell Automotive Field. As always, tune into the Thunderbolts YouTube channel for an exhilarating broadcast.

A season no one wanted to remember

What remains: a #6 seed, a season fractured by a player revolt, and one swing in the ninth inning that erased all of it.

Neal Lavon’s complete account of the 2008 LCS is on the T-Bolts website. Good timing to read it tonight. See Neal’s introduction at at tbolts.org and read “The Greatest Thunderbolt Victory You Never Heard Of” Then come out to the playoffs ready for the T-Bolts to write the next chapter.

Tomorrow’s game details – opponent, location, first pitch – will go up here and at tbolts.org as soon as they are available. Check back and get ready for Thursday.

Go Bolts!

The 18-year-old spent three years at Wootton High School in Rockville, MD, where he earned All-State recognition. As a freshman, Kai batted .394 with a 1.012 OPS, and caught 12 runners stealing. In his junior year, he batted a furious .508, slugged .770, and dished 13 assists for the Patriots behind the plate.

Amidst his illustrious career at Wootton, Kai took a courageous career leap. The catcher elected to graduate high school early last fall, and committed to Gulf Coast State College—an elite school in the Junior College baseball ranks—in Panama City, Florida this past spring.

After redshirting for the Commodores, Kai made his way to Silver Spring to play in the summer circuit. For those who have watched the Thunderbolts this season, Kai has become one of the spirited leaders of this Thunderbolts team. Considering he’s only 18 years old and has yet to play in an official college game, this may come as a surprise to some. For Kai, being a leader is something he developed dutifully.

“I didn’t know what to expect, quite frankly. But in high school, I was a little bit more vocal,” Kai told me on Sunday. “Brock and Skip made it clear to me that they want me to keep working on that, keep being vocal, helping the team out, and being as good of a communicator as I can.”

“He’s so much more vocal than when he started, being a kid that barely was out of high school,” said TBolts Assistant Coach Max “Skip” Eckert. “He’s able to articulate what he wants and make demands to his pitchers and his teammates. It just shows his maturity.”

Kai has both commanded the game gracefully and been a defensive staple for this TBolts team. In 18 regular season games, the catcher finished with 18 assists, a .982 fielding percentage, and threw out eight runners on stolen base attempts.

Along with his moxie behind the plate, Kai has seen recent success with his bat. In his last four games, he is 5-9 with two doubles, two RBIs, and four walks. After a slow start to the summer, Kai believes his development at the dish stems from the mental side of his game. Specifically, he credits his Thunderbolts coaches and teammates for helping him hone in on his abilities.

“They know the type of player I am, and the impact I can have. Understanding that for myself has helped me throughout this year, and I think has helped my bat, defense and all of my progressions,” Kai expressed.

A huge reason Kai came to Silver Spring was because he was recruited by his friend and high school teammate, Thunderbolts relief pitcher Josh Erd (Clarion). When Josh was a senior infielder at Wootton, Kai was an incoming freshman. Before their 2023 campaign, Josh and the rest of his teammates knew that they “had a stud coming in.”

Over time, Kai and Josh formed a bond through hard work and dedication toward baseball. The two trained constantly at the same facility, and eventually developed a fruitful friendship. Crucially, both players do their best to hold each other accountable and aid the mental side of their games.

“Not a lot of high school players around this area, in particular freshmen, were of his caliber talent at all,” Josh reflected on Kai joining the Wootton Patriots. “A lot of people don’t work as hard as that kid does. He was always staying after practice with us for extra work.”

After he graduated, Josh kept in touch with Kai as he became one of the best catchers in Montgomery County. Back together as TBolts, Josh—who was a full-time infielder before this summer—has savored the opportunity to pitch with Kai catching this season. Overall, he believes the 18-year-old has matured to a level where he can give Josh pitching pointers.

“I love pitching to Kai,” Josh expressed. “He actually helped me a lot with my mechanical work, pitching wise, and different grips that he saw. He’s learning a lot throughout his time [at Gulf Coast State]. He’s given me a lot of good external cues to help me with my pitches.”

“He was definitely a mentor for me in high school. He showed me the ropes. Definitely a big brother who took me under the wing,” Kai shared about Josh. “And now, it’s come to a relationship where we just help each other and push each other.”

After the summer wraps up, Kai is set to play his first official season at Gulf Coast State next spring. Beyond that, the catcher is looking to advance his career as far as he can.

“I’ve always loved playing baseball—each year and each level of it,” Kai said. “As long as I keep having fun with it, I’d love to keep going for as long as I can. It’s absolutely been a dream of mine to see how far I could go.”

Kai’s devotion to baseball has been visible since the second he stepped onto the field at Blair Stadium. Without question, the Commodores and any future team of his will be gaining a workhorse who yearns to live for the game he loves.

With this being said, the Thunderbolts are locked into the eight seed for this year’s playoffs. On Thursday, the Thunderbolts will play whoever secures the five seed.

The Gaithersburg Giants (17-21), Alexandria Aces (16-21), and Metro SoCo Braves (17-20) are all in the mix to decide Silver Spring-Takoma’s fate. Currently, Metro SoCo holds the fourth seed, Gaithersburg is in fifth, and Alexandria is in sixth.

Tomorrow, the Aces play the Southern Maryland Senators (23-14) in Waldorf at 6:30. At 7:00, the Braves will play the DC Grays (14-23) at Catholic University.

Gaithersburg’s regular season is over, so they are set with their 17-21 record. Therefore, if the Braves and Aces get rained out tomorrow, the TBolts would play the Giants this Thursday at Criswell Automotive Field.

If the Braves win and the Aces lose, the TBolts will still play Gaithersburg at Criswell.

If the Braves and Aces both win, that’s where it gets complicated. Alexandria and Gaithersburg would both hold 17-21 records, and would be tied for fifth place. The Aces are 3-1 against the Giants this season, so Alexandria would get the nod for the five seed. Therefore, the TBolts would play the Aces at Frank Mann Field.

If the Braves and Aces both lose, there comes another tie-breaking scenario; the Braves and Giants would both hold 17-21 records. The Giants went 3-1 against Metro SoCo this season, so they would get the four seed. Therefore, the TBolts would play the five-seed Braves at South County High School in Lorton, VA.

If the Aces win and Braves lose, that’s where it gets even more complicated. In that case, all three teams would hold 17-21 records. The tiebreaker at that point would come down to head-to-head win percentage. The Aces are a combined 7-5 against the Giants and Braves, so they would hold the four seed. The Giants are 4-4 against the Aces and Braves, so they would be five. The Braves are 5-7 against the Giants and Aces, so they would hold the six.

With all of that meticulous math aside, the TBolts will play Gaithersburg if Alexandria wins and Metro SoCo loses tomorrow.

If the Braves game (for whatever reason) gets cancelled and the Aces win, the TBolts would play Alexandria. If the Aces lost with a Braves cancellation, the Thunderbolts would play Gaithersburg.

If Alexandria’s game gets cancelled and the Braves win, the Thunderbolts play Gaithersburg. If the Braves lost with an Alexandria cancellation, the Thunderbolts would head to Lorton to play the Braves at South County High School.

Ultimately, the TBolts will play the Braves if Alexandria and Metro SoCo both lose tomorrow, or if Alexandria’s game gets cancelled and Metro SoCo loses to DC. The Thunderbolts will play Alexandria if the Braves and Aces both win tomorrow, or if the Aces win with a Braves cancellation.

In every other scenario, the Thunderbolts will head to Criswell to take on the Giants this Thursday.

This Thursday, the Thunderbolts are on the road for a Playoffs Play-in Round game. The postseason is here, and the TBolts have a spot in it.

Game details – opponent, location, first pitch – will go up here and at tbolts.org as soon as they are available. Check back and get ready for Thursday.

Bethesda currently sits 0.5 games ahead of the Olney Cropdusters in the race for the one seed in the playoffs. Today, the Cropdusters face the Gaithersburg Giants. Tomorrow, Olney and Bethesda face off in a game that could potentially decide the top seed.

If Bethesda loses both games today and the Cropdusters win their next two, Big Train would be knocked down to the two-seed (perhaps even the three seed if the Southern Maryland Senators win their next two games). If Bethesda sweeps Silver Spring-Takoma and Olney loses to Gaithersburg, Big Train are essentially locked into the number one seed for the playoffs.

As for Silver Spring-Takoma, they secured the eight seed after losing to the Cropdusters twice and Senators twice this past week. No matter what, they will play the fifth seed this upcoming Thursday. As of right now, the candidates for that position are the Alexandria Aces, Metro SoCo Braves, and Gaithersburg Giants.

The Thunderbolts have not played a doubleheader against Bethesda since June 24, where they split at Blair. In Game One, they lost 11-9 after gaining an 8-3 lead through five innings. In Game Two, they came through with a 6-5 victory thanks to a walk-off single by outfielder Joey King (St. Olaf).

Game one is set to kick off at 5 P.M., and Game Two will be played shortly afterward. For those who can’t attend, Peter Kelly will bring you the coverage on the Thunderbolts YouTube channel

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On June 16, the Thunderbolts took an early 5-0 lead over the Sens, lost the lead, and were walked off by James Carlson (Youngstown State) on a home run. Last night, the TBolts took a 3-0 lead, and the Senators walked things off in a different manner.

On June 16, Jacob Seek (Chesapeake) made the start against Southern Maryland (the team he’s played for the previous two summers). Seek hit the hill for the TBolts once more last night. The southpaw sawed easily through the first inning by striking out back-to-back Sens looking.

For the Senators, starting pitcher Brody Juntunen (Florida Atlantic) jousted with the TBolts’ bats. In the first, Juntunen magically worked an immaculate inning. On nine pitches, the righty registered three straight strikeouts swinging.

In the top of the second, TBolts second baseman Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) came through with a special spark to ignite the Thunderbolts offense. The righty saw a fastball down the middle, and thrashed a three-run homer to left-center field; the TBolts dugout erupted in elation, and greeted Kim graciously in the dugout. After playing three seasons for the Thunderbolts, this was the first home run of Kim’s summer career.

“It felt great. I haven’t really come all that close in the last three years, so it’s good to finally get one,” Kim told me after the game.

The hype was short lived, as the Senators juiced the bags with a single and two walks. Right-fielder Kai Lwin (Florida Atlantic) then launched a grand slam to dead-center field in the bottom half of the second. In their 7-6 loss on June 16, Seek saw a grand slam fly off the bat of Bud Coombs (Maryland) in the fourth inning. Last night, the lefty was quadrupled once more, this time by Lwin in the second.

After the grand slam, John McGowan (Trinity) relieved Seek for his fifth appearance of the season. The sidearm righty notched a K to end the helter-skelter second inning. One inning later, Zachary Anderson (Binghamton) zapped a solo homer that just got over the glove of a leaping Joey King (St. Olaf) in left field. After a trailing 3-0, the Sens went up 5-3 with two swings of the bat.

Juntenen continued to tear it up with two strikeouts apiece in the third and fourth innings. In total, the Orlando native notched 11 magical strikeouts, with nine of them coming swinging. This is the most K’s Juntenen has thrown since his six against the Alexandria Aces on June 19. The fastball and curveball combination proved to be poisonous for every TBolt not named Matthew Kim.

In the top of the fifth, Juntenen was replaced by Tyler VanDyke (VMI). The lefty quickly issued two walks, which gave way for the fourth TBolts run. With runners on the corners, All-Star Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) pieced a right-field sac fly to score a speedy Kim. Two innings later, Pegues punched a ball to left that caromed off the glove of Jack Euart (Wofford). This unearned run nodded the score at 5-5.

In the bottom of the seventh, reliever Matthew Calabrese (Rider) marched to the mound for the TBolts. The sidearm righty surrendered three quick singles to load the bases before a chaotic sequence of events.

To start, second baseman Aydin Prell (Dickinson) threw Jackson Hays (Yale) out at home with a fielder’s choice forceout. One batter later, Calabrese shoveled a short squibber to home for another force, and catcher Kai Schmelzer (Gulf Coast State) looked to double ‘em up with a throw to Connor Frickey (Babson) at first. The throw beat him by a mile, but the umpire ruled that Frickey stepped off the bag. This allowed a racing Euart to score at home, and gave the Sens a 6-5 lead.

The Thunderbolts responded with a ruckus of their own in the top of the eighth. Joey King came through with a clutch RBI single past a diving Chase Fulford (Binghamton) at shortstop. King’s single tied the score at 6-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, EJ Youngling (Moravian) was tasked to contain the Senators offense. Fulford fired a single to lead things off, but eventually was thrown out stealing second base by catcher Kai Schmelzer. Youngling secured two strikeouts to end the frame, and it set up a ninth-inning photo finish.

In the top half, Schmelzer socked a leadoff double, and Trent Lopez (Cornell) lasered a left-field single to put runners on the corners with one out. Senators reliever Aidan Kee (Keystone) responded promptly by forcing two TBolts popouts.

As they have done all summer, Southern Maryland made some late game magic to seal the deal. After Zachary Anderson popped out to center, Jack Euart perfectly placed a double over the third base bag and down the left field line. After his second inning grand slam, Kai Lwin unleashed a hard hit chopper, which ricocheted off the body of Connor Frickey at first. Euart came dashing home, and Southern Maryland stapled themselves yet again as the comeback kids.

For the fourth time this season, the Thunderbolts held a three-plus run lead over the Senators, and failed to finish the job. From the early Thunderbolts home run(s), to the Senators grand slam, to the walk-off play, and the 7-6 final score—this game eerily replicates the matchup these two teams had June 16 at North Point High School.

Silver Spring-Takoma is back tonight for a doubleheader against the Bethesda Big Train (25-11) at Blair Stadium.

Those who watch Major League Baseball may know that the playing conditions in Colorado contrast considerably from the rest of the country. Due to the high elevation and thin air, the ball travels much faster when hit off the bat. On the flip side, pitchers have a difficult time retiring hitters thanks to the lack of offspeed rotation.

This past week, I had a chance to speak with Thunderbolts players and Colorado natives Connor Frickey (Babson) and Wade Hartrick (U Chicago). Both players provided interesting insight on how playing in the Centennial State differs from the rest of the country.

Connor played first and third base at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. As a primary first baseman this summer, the 6’5” righty is batting .289 with 15 RBIs and 23 walks. On defense, he has made multiple gold glove caliber snags for the TBolts as of late.

Overall, Connor believes there is a sharp distinction in how he saw the ball in Colorado compared to now. He shared, “The way you’re attacked, pitching wise, is a lot different. The ball doesn’t break as much, so there’s a lot of sliders and change-ups out there; you see better looks than the rest of the country.”

Since there are not many competitive baseball schools in Colorado, many of Connor’s talented teammates played at junior colleges in states such as Kansas and Arizona. Due to his lack of options out west, Connor himself played a postgraduate year at The Taft School in Connecticut. He eventually committed to Babson College in Massachusetts, and is currently a rising senior.

After making his move to the northeast, Connor “had to figure out how to hit the sinker. That was the biggest one. Because you don’t get as much sink in Colorado. So, definitely, the balls were getting under my barrel a little bit.”

While he crushes the ball in Colorado and has found a comforting home in New England, Connor loves playing in Silver Spring’s electric atmosphere. He explained, “I’ve had a lot of fun playing in this league because being a D3 guy, you don’t get too many fans out at the games. It’s just a lot of friends and family. So, getting the fans at these games, and having a good atmosphere is overall just a good time.”

Similar to Connor, Wade Hartrick has had a nationwide baseball journey. Growing up in Boulder, Wade was primarily a catcher in his youth. In high school, he played ball at the iconic IMG Academy in South Florida. After his coaches at IMG noticed his strong arm, Wade developed into a two-way player during his sophomore year of High School. From there, he moved on to the University of Chicago, where he is currently a rising sophomore. This summer, the righty has seen action both on the mound as a reliever, and at the plate as a catcher.

Because of his hybrid playstyle, Wade feels he gets the best of both worlds both on the bump and behind the plate. On the mound this summer, the righty has struck out 18 hitters in 12 innings pitched. In 20 at-bats for the TBolts, Wade has three singles, one double, and has drawn five walks.



In terms of pitching, “There definitely is a difference in how much the pitches move. I can tell on my slider, I get an extra little bit of depth, a little bit of arm side movement. Versus back home, it feels a little bit tighter.”

Wade brings some of the most fiery gasoline on the team, with his fastball religiously reaching over 90 miles per hour. When asked how he feels his fastball moves in Silver Spring, he expressed, “I definitely noticed that I get more carry here if that makes sense. Visually, it looks like it stays true—almost like it’s rising through the plate.”

When he first arrived in Chicago, Wade felt he was in tip-top shape compared to his Maroon teammates. At a higher altitude, the thin Colorado air adjusts the lungs to tougher breathing conditions. However, once Wade gets acclimated to sea level, he finds little to no difference between he and his teammates’ endurance. In fact, whenever he goes back to Colorado for workouts, he finds it hard to readjust to the thin air.

Wade also harped on how hitting home runs differs from Colorado compared to other locations. “You can get away with hitting the ball in the air and not hitting it that hard. Just because the ball’s gonna carry, you don’t have to hit it as hard to get it out,” he commented on Colorado’s conditions.

“At Blair, in order to get one out of here—especially to left—you gotta crush it. So it’s like, with me, I can’t afford to miss in the air as much because they don’t get over the fence, and they don’t get over people’s heads. I have to be a lower line drive approach hitter.”

Despite the disadvantages Blair brings for hitters at the plate, “I’d much rather play here, for sure. Just ‘cause I think it’s more true to the equilibrium state of baseball. If you’re watching a Major League game, this is like normal conditions in terms of how much the ball flies, but also the way the ball moves. Altitude is kind of a variable in that system that shifts it out of equilibrium.”

Connor and Wade have both been fun additions to the TBolts, and it has been a pleasure watching them carry their Colorado bravado to the diamond this summer. We wish them nothing but the best with the conclusion of their seasons and the rest of their college careers.

The Senators may as well be called the Waldorf Warriors with the way they have crafted comeback wins this summer. In their three previous games against the Thunderbolts, Southern Maryland have fallen behind by at least four runs. Incredibly, they have still squeezed away one-run victories in every game.

The last time these teams met in Waldorf, outfielder Trent Lopez went 2-5 with two walks, two home runs, and five RBIs on June 16. In that action-packed affair, the Senators slugged a walk-off solo home run to capture a 7-6 win.

At Blair Stadium last Thursday, the Senators trailed 6-5 and were down to their final out of the game. However, their offense tallied two clutch ninth-inning RBI singles to go ahead and win 8-7.

Southern Maryland are currently first in the South Division Standings, and have developed a supreme offense this summer. The Senators lead the Ripken League in walks (257), and trail the Bethesda Big Train in team average (.278), hits (324), and team OPS (.813).

With this being said, the Senators are also susceptible to strikeouts, as they currently have the second most in the Ripken League (302). Despite missing multiple arms over the course of the season, the TBolts pitching staff are currently tied for the most strikeouts in the Ripken League (288). As always, this game should prove to be a thrilling back-and-fourth slugfest.

First pitch is scheduled for 5 P.M. at North Point High School. Brian Alves and Patrick Moran will broadcast tonight’s game on the Thunderbolts YouTube channel.

Griffin Roussell (Point Park) made his sixth start of the season for the Thunderbolts. The righty twirled three innings, allowed four hits, four walks, four earned runs, and struck out two.

The Thunderbolts offense struck in the first inning with a long right-center field double by first baseman Connor Frickey (Babson). Frickey eventually moved to third on a passed ball, and was brought home by a Cropdusters error; Marco Pulizzi (Millersville) hit a lazy fly to right, and Maximus Wearing (Rutgers) lost it off his glove towards the foul line. Catcher Mason Kelleher (Frostburg St.) followed in Frickey’s pursuit with a long double to right-center to score two more runs.

In the bottom of the third, the Thunderbolts struck with three walks to load the bases. With two outs, second baseman Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) dumped a single to left to drive in two TBolts runs.

Roussell quickly issued a walk and hit-by-pitch to start the fourth inning. After three innings of work, the righty was pulled for right-hander Noah Tofan (Sul Ross State). In a 3-2 count, Tofan tangled Wearing with a strikeout on a low fastball. However, a wild pitch brought home David Hernandez (New Mexico) to cut the lead to 5-3. Playing shortstop for the first time this season, Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) recorded a 6-3 RBI putout. For the final out of the fourth, Marco Pulizzi (Millersville) made a sliding catch to conceal the chaos.

In the top of the fifth, Olney piled on two more runs with a TBolts passed ball and RBI single by Zakye Hawkins (New Mexico). One inning later, Camacho connected with first baseman Connor Frickey (Babson) for an electric 6-3 putout. The hype was short lived, as Hernandez sizzled a single up the middle to put Olney up 7-5. With things starting to unravel, TBolts reliever Wade Hartrick (Chicago) hit the hill for his eleventh appearance of the season. A wild pitch brought home another Cropdusters run, but Hartrick notched a K to end the fifth.

After his awesome catch, Pulizzi peeled a right-field single in the sixth to score a timely TBolts run. Kelleher then clobbered a single of his own to right, and the Olney lead was trimmed to 8-7. Third baseman Nolan Kutney (UMBC) joined the party with a right-field triple in the bottom of the seventh. Crucially, Kim cashed in for his third RBI with a sac fly to plate Kutney.

In the top of the eighth, TBolts reliever Vince Anzedei (Dominican) made his fifth appearance on the mound this summer. The righty recorded two quick K’s by rifling a fastball by Scott and making Owen McNeal (Central Alabama) reach with a breaking ball. To end the inning, catcher Mason Kelleher snapped a throw to Frickey for a poised pickoff.

For the first time this summer, the Thunderbolts looked to be a real threat to this dangerous Cropdusters team. With the score tied at 8-8, TBolts pitcher Branden Brown (Frostburg St.)—who had missed over a month due to injury—hit the hill for the first time since June 7. Unfortunately, Brown and the Bolts got battered by the Olney offense.

To lead off the ninth, the Cropdusters loaded the bases by drawing two walks and getting plunked by a pitch. To make up for his previous error, Maximus Wearing walloped an RBI single to left, and eventually scored on another wild pitch. Sammy Berman (Maryland) piled it on with a 2 RBI single to right, and the Cropdusters took a frantic four-run lead.

Kim drew a walk to lead off the bottom half, but the Thunderbolts grounded into a game-ending double play. A Blair Stadium crowd of 241 watched as Olney celebrated their eighth straight victory over Silver Spring-Takoma.

Despite the loss, this was by far the Thunderbolts’ best all-around performance against Olney this summer. In total, the TBolts had 11 hits, drew eight walks, and struck out 13 Cropdusters. While these stats were stellar, the Thunderbolts also threw three costly wild pitches and frantically hit five Olney batters. The Cropdusters simply cashed in during crunch-time, and came away with a sneaky 12-8 victory.

Silver Spring-Takoma is back in action tonight to face the Southern Maryland Senators in their final road matchup of the regular season.

The Cropdusters are a perfect 7-0 against Silver Spring-Takoma this season. In their last three meetings, the Olney pitching staff has punished the TBolts’ bats in a brutal manner. In their 7-1 loss on June 26, the Thunderbolts had three hits. In their 11-3 home loss on July 6, the TBolts had four hits. Just four days ago, they recorded three hits at First Responder Field, and fell 8-2.

In those three games, the Cropdusters struck out a combined 23 times, while Silver Spring-Takoma were K’d 24 times. Both of these teams rank highly in the strikeout category this summer, with the TBolts sitting at 275, and the Cropdusters with 272.

Griffin Roussell (Point Park) was scheduled to pitch yesterday against Bethesda before the game was wiped out. Tonight, the righty gets another chance to toe the rubber at Blair Stadium. The righty made one start against Olney on June 4, where he allowed five hits and struck out one Cropduster. In total, Roussell has thrown 22 innings and has struck out 13 batters this summer.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 P.M. tonight at Blair Stadium. For those who can’t attend, Brian Alves and Patrick Moran will bring you the call on the Thunderbolts YouTube channel.

Last time these two teams met, the Thunderbolts brought an early offensive boom. Nolan Kutney (UMBC) and Marco Pulizzi (Millersville) each hit home runs and Aydin Prell (Dickinson) bashed a bases-clearing double. However, it was not enough to hold off the boisterous Bethesda offense. In this 10-7 outing, the Big Train chugged ahead for a five-run sixth inning to stun Silver Spring-Takoma.

After a fantastic five-game stretch from July 10 to July 14, the Thunderbolts have recently struck a road block. On Wednesday, the Olney Cropdusters neutralized the TBolts’ bats in an 8-2 onslaught at First Responder Field. After taking a 4-0 lead on Thursday, the Thunderbolts fell 8-7 to the Southern Maryland Senators.

Bethesda, on the other hand, have won four of their last five games. Big Train were leading the Cropdusters 6-5 last night at home, but the game was suspended in the top of the seventh due to inclement weather. Bethesda—as their offense has done all season—lead the Ripken League in team average (.296), OPS (.864), RBIs (242), and extra-base hits (107).

Toeing the mound tonight for the TBolts will be Griffin Roussell (Point Park). Roussell will make his sixth start this summer, and his second against Bethesda. On June 14, the righty tossed three innings, allowed one hit, and struck out three Big Train batters at Shirley Povich Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 P.M. with Brian Alves and Peter Kelly broadcasting on the Thunderbolts YouTube Channel.

The season isn’t over; it’s not even close.

Four games remain before the playoffs begin July 23. The final stretch looks like this:

Sat., Jul. 18 – At Bethesda Big Train, Shirley Povich Field, 7:00 PM

Sun., Jul. 19 – Home vs. Olney Cropdusters, 6:00 PM – Social Emotions performs the National Anthem.

Mon., Jul. 20 – At Southern Maryland Senators, North Point HS, 5:00 PM

Tue., Jul. 21 – Home vs. Bethesda Big Train, 7:00 PM – The final home game of the regular season. (Makeup of the July 9 rainout.)

Rest up tonight. The stretch run starts tomorrow. (air quality and weather permitting!)

For Southern Maryland, Bryce Palms (Youngstown State) palmed the ball on the bump for the seventh time this summer. Center-fielder Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) worked a leadoff walk, and stole his 19th base of the season. After a grounder moved him to third, Pegues trotted in and scored off a Palms balk. Yet again, Pegues found a way to travel from first to home without any hits to help him.

E-Rod got his second inning started by fanning Zachary Anderson (Binghamton) with a fastball. After a single by Jack Euart (Wofford), the TBolts turned a terrific 3-6-3 double play. Connor Frickey (Babson) fielded a chopper in the 3-4 hole, and slung it to shortstop Colin Gibbs (Delaware) for the force at second. Gibbs then fired it to Frickey who hustled back to first to make the catch.

In the third, Rodriguez repped his rocket once more to retire Cole Rhame (Richmond) swinging. With runners on second and third, E-Rod collected a popout right in front of the mound to put things away.

In the bottom half, the TBolts loaded the bags with two walks and a single. Caleb Sturtevant (Millersville) stifled a line drive off the glove of third baseman Jackson Hays (Yale), which drove in the second run of the game. Later, Joey King (St. Olaf) smacked an RBI single, and Cam Baker (Indian River St.) cooked a sac fly to center. At the end of three, the Thunderbolts led 4-0.

With two outs in the fifth, Rhame rifled a two-run homer to left-center to cut the lead in half. This demoralizing dinger officially ended E-Rod’s day on the mound. In total, the righty allowed three hits, issued six walks, and struck out five through four and two-thirds innings.

Palms remained in for the fifth, and Sturtevant immediately stacked a double off him to left-center field. This gave way for Dawson Wertherald (Mount Aloysius) to make his 12th relief appearance for the Sens. In total, the righty hurled two innings while allowing just one hit.

Southern Maryland juiced the bags in the sixth inning, and Chase Fulford (Binghamton) drove in a run off a fielder’s choice. Thereafter, Rhame chopped a slow single up the middle to plate two more runs. To end the chaos, catcher Kai Schmelzer (Gulf Coast State) sent down the Sens with an assist to second on a stolen base attempt. Still, Southern Maryland stormed past the Thunderbolts to take a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom half of the sixth, the TBolts and Senators had a clash between Kai’s. Schmelzer smoked a ball the opposite way, but right-fielder Kai Lwin (Florida Atlantic) made a sliding catch to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Pegues banged a double off the left-center field wall for his second hit of the game. Chet Kosnar (Franklin & Marshall) came in to relieve Wetherald, and the righty escaped a giant jam. With runners on the corners and no outs, Kosner collected three consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.

For Southern Maryland, Kosnar came through with a dirty play to record the first out of the eighth. The pitcher fielded a Collin Gibbs squibber, sprinted to first, and dived onto the bag to beat him out. Eventually, Kosner was replaced by Gabriel Rodriguez (Bethany Lutheran). Much like the Kai clash, one Gabriel said hello to the other. Pegues roped a double to left off Rodriguez, and it scored two TBolts runs. A Blair Stadium crowd of 120 was sent into a frenzy as the TBolts regained a 6-5 lead.

The TBolts were in business to seal the deal in the ninth inning. In a save situation, pitcher Matthew Calabrese (Rider) forced two quick Senators groundouts. With the Blair crowd on their feet, Ethan Adams (Georgia State) fell behind in an 0-2 count. But alas, Southern Maryland refused to quit. Adams kept battling to stay alive, and eventually worked the count full. Reminiscent of the Rahm RBI, the righty chopped a slow single up the middle to tie it at 6-6. Fulford then looped a clutch single of his own to right, and the Sens took a 7-6 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Thunderbolts failed to register any type of rally. The Senators held on for their 21st win of 2026, while the TBolts suffered another heartbreaker.

In this 7-6 rollercoaster, the Senators had 12 hits, drew 9 walks, and struck out eight TBolts. Conversely, Silver Spring-Takoma had eight hits, drew six walks, and also struck out eight. Once again, the Thunderbolts built a marginal lead over Southern Maryland and lost it in dramatic fashion; this is the third time the Senators have come back to defeat the Thunderbolts by one run this summer.

The Thunderbolts are back in action tonight at Blair Stadium to face the Gaithersburg Giants at 7 P.M.

The Thunderbolts have lost two heartbreaking games to the Senators this summer. On June 16, the TBolts went up 6-0 over Southern Maryland thanks to two homers—a solo shot and grand slam—by outfielder Trent Lopez (Cornell). However, the Senators stormed back, and James Carlson (Youngstown State) hit a walk-off homer to win it 7-6 at North Point High School. On June 27, the Thunderbolts went ahead 7-2, but eventually lost 8-7 at Blair; Josh Tseronis (Delaware) hit a clutch eighth inning homer to give Southern Maryland the late lead.

While he has only played in 12 games, Senators outfielder Bud Coombs (Vanderbilt) is one of the most eye-popping players in the Ripken League. The DeMatha Catholic alumni is batting .435 with 19 RBIs, 14 walks, and five home runs. Infielder Chase Fulford (Binghamton) is also having a fantastic summer. The righty is batting .346 with 18 RBIs and 22 walks. Fulford also has 23 stolen bases, which is the second most in the Ripken League.

Tonight, Coombs and Fulford will face the right arm of Emilio Rodriguez (La Salle). Rodriguez threw five innings of relief against Southern Maryland on June 27 at Blair. That night, the righty struck out a season-high nine Senators—this is still the most K’s delivered by a TBolt in a single outing this summer.

Rodriguez looked sharp in four innings against DC last week, but his only falter was the six walks he issued. Southern Maryland has drawn 238 walks this season, which is the most in the Ripken League. Therefore, E-Rod will need to find the strike zone to set a dominant tone for the TBolts.

Head Coach Brock Hunter believes another crucial component to success comes from limiting opponents’ offensive explosions. “If we limit big innings and hit the way we’ve been hitting, it’s gonna be hard to beat us,” Hunter said before yesterday’s game against the Cropdusters. “If we limit the big inning, have some clean ones, and make plays, we should be on top.”

The TBolts are looking to come out on top against Southern Maryland tonight at 7 P.M. Patrick Moran and Brian Alves will bring you the call on the Thunderbolts YouTube broadcast.

On July 11, the Colorado Rockies selected catcher Jack Natili with the 76th pick in the MLB draft. Natili played his freshman season with Rutgers, and spent his last two with the Cincinnati Bearcats. Last spring, he batted .339 with a 1.098 OPS, 46 assists, 65 RBIs and 19 home runs. In Cincinnati’s NCAA tournament win over Louisiana, Natili went 4-5 with three home runs. Additionally, the catcher was named to the Second Team All-Big 12 team.

As a rising college freshman, Natili played five games with the Thunderbolts in the summer of 2023; the Pennsylvania native was hosted by current TBolts pitcher Vince Anzidei’s family. In total, he batted .188 with three RBIs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Natili’s summer ended early after breaking his wrist while sliding into first on an infield single. Nevertheless, he went on to have a decorated college career with the Bearcats.

Natili becomes the highest drafted Thunderbolts player since Brett Cecil was drafted 38th overall in 2007. Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter is not surprised in the slightest that Natili flourished into a third round pick.

“I think that was an obvious one that everyone saw coming,” Hunter expressed. “As a rising freshman, he was hitting the ball 100 miles an hour in batting practice, it was pretty incredible. He had every tool, but was a high school player and hadn’t developed into a college player with those tools.”

“I knew it was coming from the day we met him,” Assistant Coach Max “Skip” Eckert said. “You could tell he was a dawg. He could catch, he could throw, he could block, and he could absolutely mash.”

Yesterday, pitcher John Carver signed a contract with the Houston Astros organization. The right-hander spent four years at Adelphi University, and had his best season this past spring. He started 10 games in 2026, recorded a 2.67 ERA, and struck out 92 hitters. Moreover, Carver recently won the Northeast 10 Pitcher of the Year Award and was named a D2CCA All-American.

Unlike Natili, Carver spent a whole summer with the TBolts in the summer of 2024. The righty started seven games, threw 22.1 innings, allowed 17 hits, and carved 23 strikeouts.

Skip Eckert has fond memories of mentoring the rising sophomore in 2024. After Carver’s summer in Silver Spring ended, the Director of Player Development still made sure to relay tips to the righty whenever he could.

“He was a kid physically that looked like Paul Skenes, but he was a little bit chubbier. He channeled some of the feedback he got and became a hoss,” Eckert reminisced.

We wish nothing but the best for these former Thunderbolts as they look to begin their journeys in professional baseball.