King Reigns Supreme; Joey Walks Off Bethesda in a 6-5 Stunner
SILVER SPRING, JUNE 24—Last night, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (5-13) squared off with the Bethesda Big Train (10-8) in the second game of a doubleheader. Bethesda had just salvaged an 11-9 comeback victory in Game One, and were looking to stay perfect against the TBolts in 2026.
Game Two was scheduled to go seven innings due to time constraints, but it still proved to be an electric showdown before a crowd of 200 at Blair Baseball Stadium. Ultimately, Silver Spring-Takoma finally salvaged their first win against their Capital Beltway counterparts.
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In the first inning, Big Train first baseman Emilio Gonzalez (Jr., Nova Southeastern) ripped an RBI double to right-center field to give Bethesda an early 1-0 lead. One inning later, the Big Train was derailed by catcher Mason Kelleher’s (So., Frostburg St.) missile assist to gun down a runner stealing second. Gonzalez bounced back for Bethesda after scorching a third inning sac fly to center, giving them a 2-0 lead.
Although he surrendered two early runs, Christian Dray (So., Richmond) had a filthy day on the mound for the Thunderbolts. In his third start, the Richmond Spider strung together a season-high five strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Three of Dray’s K’s were brought by his breaking ball, and two were pumped by the gasoline of his fastball.
First baseman Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) had fruitful at-bats early on for the Thunderbolts. The 6’5” righty cashed in the first two TBolt runs after lacing a third-inning RBI single to center. Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Frickey found his groove with another two-RBI single that was lined perfectly to left field. Silver Spring-Takoma took their first lead of the game, and—after Game One’s unraveling—looked to keep it that way.
The sixth inning remained scoreless thanks to poised pitching on both sides. For the Thunderbolts, reliever Michael Preske (So., Cecil CC) sang his signature grunts on the mound. The righty issued a 3-1 count, but came back to strike out the final batter on a check swing to end the inning. After his big K, Preske was praised passionately by his teammates heading into the dugout.
Down to their last life in the seventh, Big Train revived the game in a riveting way. Daniel Machado (So., Florida Atlantic) mashed a triple to right-center field that was snuck by two outfielders running—and almost collidng—in the gap. Gonzalez (who had done damage all game) was intentionally walked to set up the double play opportunity. Big Train struck out swinging, but then drew a walk to load the bases. Ryan Foscolo (So., Kentucky) tied the game with an RBI hit-by-pitch after frightfully taking a fastball to the helmet. Gonzalez then came dashing home after a wild pitch reached the backstop, and Bethesda went ahead 5-4.
Bethesda’s players looked to be all aboard the comeback train once more. On June 2, they came back down 8-2 to walk off the TBolts 12-11 at Shirley Povich Field. On June 7, they exploded for a 27-13 win at Blair after trailing 13-11 midway through. The Big Train erased a five-run deficit in their Game One victory, and were looking to hand the TBolts another heartbreaking loss. Ultimately, the Thunderbolts decided it was time to shut down Bethesda’s block party.
Gabriel Pegues (So., Lynchburg) and Frickey worked back-to-back five-pitch walks, which was followed by a beautiful bunt by Jona Acosta (So., North Florida). By the time Bethesda fielded the softly hit squibber, Acosta was already safe at first to load the bags. With no outs, chants of “Let’s Go TBolts” came raining down at Blair Stadium. Mason Kelleher fed off the support, and came through with a center-field RBI single. The crowd erupted as Pegues ran across the plate, and the game was now tied at 5-5.
Joey King (So., St. Olaf) arrived to the dish 0-3 on the day with three strikeouts. With an opportunity to finally derail the Big Train—who were 4-0 against the TBolts this season—King checked his swing on the first pitch. “I was a little jumpy at the start,” King told me after the game. “I was just trying to get something through the infield.”
King’s goal was quickly conquered. The third pitch of the at-bat ran in on his hands, but the righty was able to rocket it to center field. As it touched down on the grass, he watched as the winning run scored for Silver Spring-Takoma. King was royally mobbed at first base by his teammates, and eventually drenched in water from a gatorade cooler.
King came through for Silver Spring-Takoma’s second walk-off this season at Blair Stadium. He joined Aydin Prell (So., Dickinson), who provided a bases-loaded walk to win it last week against the Gaithersburg Giants. Strikingly, King supplied the first walk-off hit for the TBolts in 2026. “It felt great just to help the team get a win,” King said humbly after his heroics.
Along with King, Connor Frickey and Mason Kelleher were both standouts for Silver Spring-Takoma. The righties were both 2-3 with a walk, with Frickey accounting for four of the six Thunderbolt runs. In total, the TBolts hammered seven hits, drew six walks, and struck out 10 Big Train batters. This was the Thunderbolts’ third win at Blair Stadium this season, and their first against Bethesda.
Next stop for Silver Spring-Takoma is Lorton, where they will battle the Metro SoCo Braves for the first time this season at 7 P.M.