Reliving The Five Best Thunderbolts Wins of 2026
SILVER SPRING, AUGUST 3—This season, the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League had fans on their feet for heart-racing regular season and playoff games. The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts joined this thrill fest with 11 fun victories in 2026.
With Ripken League action officially under wraps, let’s take a moment to relive the five most electric wins Silver Spring-Takoma secured this summer.
5. Puvel (Walks) Off Gaithersburg
One day after a heartbreaking walk-off loss to Southern Maryland, the Thunderbolts came back to Blair Stadium on June 17 looking to land in the win column. The Gaithersburg Giants had already handed the TBolts a heart wrenching 20-8 loss on June 3, and were looking to stomp even harder this time around.
Thunderbolts starting pitcher Brady Grimes (Millersville) threw five masterful innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Gaithersburg broke the scoreless affair with a sixth-inning RBI single, and scored a second run from a seventh-inning wild pitch. In the eighth, TBolts first baseman Connor Frickey (Babson) drew an RBI walk, and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. This gave way for an epic ninth-inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs, outfielder Griffin Puvel (Rider) took ball four on a full count to secure Silver Spring-Takoma’s third win of the summer. In one of their lowest scoring games of the season, Puvel helped the Blair crowd of 175 drive home happily.
4. A Royal 20-0 Flush
Due to rainy conditions in the DMV on June 10, the Thunderbolts and Alexandria Aces were forced to reschedule their much anticipated first matchup of the summer. This game was thus played on June 15, and proved to be every bit of a boiling pot.
Before a Blair crowd of 141, the Thunderbolts handed the Aces a 20-0 royal flush victory. The offense exploded for nine runs after two innings, and the defense locked up shop with zero errors; Alexandria suffered a mercy rule defeat after just seven innings.
Nine Thunderbolts hitters notched a base hit, and seven drew at least one walk. Notably, Connor Frickey went 2-2 with a three-RBI double and three walks. Outfielder Joey King (St. Olaf) also had three RBIs, including a two-run second-inning triple.
On the pitching side, Will Heyse (Stevenson), Matthew Calabrese (Rider), and Aidan Watts (Rochester) each allowed two hits apiece. After starting the season 1-7 and having multiple games rained out, the TBolts rallied for their most rambunctious win of the season.
3. King Derails Big Train
To begin the summer, the Bethesda Big Train had pulled off three crushing comeback wins over Silver Spring-Takoma. On June 24, Big Train conquered the Thunderbolts 11-9 in the first game of a doubleheader at Blair. Heading into Game Two, the TBolts were starving for a win over Bethesda.
The game was neck-and-neck throughout, with Connor Frickey contributing three RBIs for the TBolts to take a 4-3 lead. In the seventh inning, (which served as the ninth, since the game was shortened) Bethesda stormed back to take a 5-4 lead off a wild pitch and hit-by-pitch.
In the bottom half, the Thunderbolts refused to let Bethesda write another heartbreaking script. Mason Kelleher (Frostburg St.) came through with a game-tying RBI knock, and Joey King walked it off with a sensational bases-loaded single to center. The Blair crowd erupted with joy, and King was royally drowned by a cooler of water by his teammates.
2. A Comeback For The Aces
Five days following their 20-0 win over Alexandria, the Thunderbolts yet again folded the Aces. This time, things were far more frantic at Frank Mann Field. In Game One of a doubleheader, the Aces took a commanding 8-5 lead heading into the seventh inning (which, once again, served as the final inning).
In the bottom half, the TBolts shuffled a whole new deck of cards. Third baseman Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) clobbered a two-RBI double to deep center to cut the lead down to 8-7. His fellow Miami man Jona Acosta (North Florida) then crushed a single up the middle to give SS-T a 9-8 lead. From there, the Thunderbolts piled on 10 more runs, which included four separate RBI singles.
In their wackiest win of the summer, the Thunderbolts piled on a 14-run seventh inning in a 19-8 finish. If anything, the TBolts taught the Aces to never count their money until the dealing is done.
1. Thunderbolts Bring Playoff Pyro
When a team loses four games to end their regular season, it’s hard to keep spirits high for the playoffs. However, the Thunderbolts came to Criswell Automotive Field on July 23 with newfound fire. In a play-in matchup with the Gaithersburg Giants, the TBolts gave their travelling fans the most electric game of the summer.
Gabe Pegues (Lynchburg) led off the game with a solo home run, and Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) came through with an RBI triple in the fourth. A fifth-inning Griffin Puvel double then gave the Thunderbolts a convincing 5-1 lead.
Southpaw Jacob Seek (Chesapeake) threw four efficient innings to start, and Wade Hartrick (U Chicago) had a heroic stint out of the bullpen. Hartrick heaved a scoreless two and two-third innings, struck out four, and emptied the tank with his fiery fastballs.
In the ninth, the Thunderbolts saw their four-run lead begin to evaporate with a sac fly, RBI single, and RBI walk. Holding on with a one-run lead, reliever EJ Youngling (Moravian) came in with the bases loaded and one out. Miraculously, the righty forced the perfect 6-4-3 double play; Camacho, Kim and Frickey all connected to put an end to the panic. This inspiring 6-5 win sent the TBolts to the Wild Card round in Waldorf.
The Thunderbolts are hoping to bring more memorable moments like these for fans at Blair Stadium next season. An enormous thank you to all those who attended Thunderbolts games, read our articles, kept up with us on social media, and listened to our YouTube broadcast in 2026. Your support is truly priceless, and we hope you have a wonderful rest of your summer.