Pegues Named Hitter of the Week; TBolts Seek To End Three-Game Skid Tonight in Gaithersburg
GAITHERSBURG, JUNE 29—Ever since the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (5-16) walked off Bethesda on Wednesday night, their ship has gone askew. The TBolts dropped three grueling games last week to the Braves, Cropdusters, and Senators, respectively. Since their last two games were cancelled due to inclement weather, the Thunderbolts are hoping to be recharged for tonight’s road assignment.
Silver Spring-Takoma will make the trek to Criswell Automotive Field to face off with the Gaithersburg Giants (9-13). The Giants have also been struggling as of late, having lost seven of their last eight contests. The last time these two teams met, Griffin Puvel (Sr., Rider) provided a walk-off walk at Blair Stadium in their 3-2 victory on June 17.
Behind the Cropdusters, Gaithersburg has the best defense in the Ripken League on paper. They have surrendered the second least runs (134), have the second lowest team WHIP (1.73), and have the second least errors (25). Oddly enough, these statistics have not been translating to wins; a majority of their losses as of late have been tight fights.
Jacob Seek (Jr., Chesapeake) will head to the hill for the fourth time this season, and he faces a team who he is familiar with up to this point. Seek faced the Giants on both June 3 at Blair and on June 9 at Criswell. In these two games, the lefty combined for six innings, allowed four hits, surrendered three earned runs, and struck out 10 Giants. Seek has not taken the mound since June 16, so it will be interesting to see how his stuff will stand up against a struggling Giants offense.
Although the TBolts have struggled, outfielder Gabriel Pegues (So., Lynchburg) has been on a tear as of late. In fact, the right-hander just received the Ripken League Hitter of the Week award; this is the first time a TBolt has won this honor in 2026. This past week, Pegues batted 9-16 with five RBIs, four extra-base hits, six walks, and five stolen bases. While Pegues has been having an all-star caliber season, the most crucial thing on his mind is helping Silver Spring-Takoma salvage success.
“I try not to think about it, I don’t really wanna look at it,” Pegues replied when asked how he views his summer statistics. “I just hope that I can keep going, and help the guys get some wins. I think we’re gonna heat up here soon, so I’m just happy to do what I can to help.”
Seek, Pegues, and the Thunderbolts will need to bring the heat tonight if they want to slay the Giants. First pitch at Criswell Automotive Field is set for 7 P.M. Peter Kelly and Brian Alves will give you the call on the Thunderbolts’ YouTube broadcast.