Giants Get Best of the Bolts in a 10-2 Onslaught
GAITHERSBURG, JUNE 29—The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (5-17) were sent packing once more last night in a 10-2 loss to the Gaithersburg Giants (10-13). Both teams came into this one struggling offensively, having dropped eight of their last ten games. Ultimately, it was Gaithersburg who pulled out the win at Criswell Automotive Field.
Before the game, I had a chance to speak with Thunderbolts outfielder Gabriel Pegues (So., Lynchburg), who recently won the Ripken League Hitter of the Week award. In his previous five games, the righty batted .563 with five RBIs, four extra-base hits, and six walks. Specifically, Pegues was asked what fueled his scorching hot hitting.
“I think it was just having a plan. Each at bat, having a plan, going up there making sure I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and just executing. I really couldn’t do it without my teammates—they helped me out a lot. So, just having a plan, trusting the guys around me, and going out there and competing.”
With Pegues in center-field, the TBolts cultivated competitive defense to kick things off in Gaithersburg. Second baseman Matthew Kim (Sr., Hampden Sydney) made a masterful snag and connected with Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) for a flashy 4-3 first inning putout. In terms of pitching, Jacob Seek (Jr., Chesapeake) made his fourth start this season for Silver Spring-Takoma. Seek fired fierce stuff all night, and used his fastball to fan the final Giant of the first. The southpaw continued his onslaught with two strikeouts swinging in the second, and one in the third.
Thunderbolts bats hammered three hard flyouts in the early bulk of this contest, but were struggling to find the grass. Simultaneously, Gaithersburg showed their demeaning defensive presence. In the third, Giants third baseman Ayden Phillips (So., Northwest Florida State) fielded a grounder, stepped on third and fired to Ryan Strnad (So., Seton Hall) for a rare 5-3 double play. In the bottom half, Phillips secured a left-field sac fly to score Gaithersburg’s first run. Afterward, third baseman Jona Acosta (So., North Florida) made a beautiful snag and assist off of a jittery grounder to wrap up the inning.
With his fastball and changeup, Seek punched out back-to-back Giants to end the fifth. Seek’s five-inning outing officially ended with a season-high seven strikeouts. This is the deepest the Chesapeake lefty has pitched into a game so far this summer.
Noah Tofan (Gr., Sul Ross State) came in to relieve Seek in the sixth, but he quickly ran into trouble. Gaithersburg’s offense shot out of a cannon, and the TBolts defense committed costly mistakes. After laying down a slow rolling bunt, Marcus Martin (Jr., High Point) reached first after the Thunderbolt throw deflected off the glove of Frickey. Dominic Trolio (So., Seton Hall) danced to first after two TBolts watched a single drop between them in left. Two RBI walks and a wild pitch later, and it was 7-0 Giants.
With his fastball and slider, Adian Watts (Jr., Rochester) threw three straight strikeouts for the Thunderbolts in the seventh inning. In the top of the eighth, Gabe Pegues pieced an RBI double to right-center field. Later, Acosta broke the scoreless stint with an RBI single to center.
Gaithersburg did not tally any hits in the eighth inning, but still scored three runs to go up 10-1. With the sun setting in Gaithersburg, five walks (three of them RBIs) and a hit-by-pitch created a blue hour for the Thunderbolts defense.
With supportive Thunderbolts cheers erupting at Criswell Automotive Field, the Bolts offense loaded the bags in the ninth inning. Pegues then pedaled for a hustle infield single to make it 10-2. To close it out, a sky-high popup dropped into catcher Matthew Rich’s glove, and the Thunderbolts dropped their fourth straight loss.
Silver Spring-Takoma’s offense was lackluster with seven hits, four walks, and three double play groundouts. Pitchers Owen Singer (So., Marymount), Jacob Cali (So., Florida Southwestern State), and Jack Eldwell (Jr., Caldwell) were all electric for the Giants on the hill.
The Thunderbolts’ defense was doing damage throughout the game; they struck out 12 Giants (seven of them coming from Seek), and committed zero errors for the third straight contest. The Giants also amassed seven hits, but their 13 walks and five stolen bases proved to be too much pressure for the TBolts. As good as the defense was, they still found themselves in far too many bases loaded situations—especially in the sixth and eighth innings.
Pegues continued his hot hitting by going 2-4 with an RBI and a walk. Trent Lopez (So., Cornell) also had a productive day at the plate. The right-hander went 2-3 with a walk, and demolished a double down the left-field line in the ninth.
Although they lost this one on the road, Silver Spring-Takoma has a three-game home stretch this week at Blair Baseball Stadium. Their next task is the DC Grays tonight at 7 P.M.