Senators Shower Thunderbolts with Homers in an 8-7 Showdown
SILVER SPRING, JUNE 27—Last night, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (5-16) had a rainy rendezvous with the Southern Maryland Senators (15-7). Yesterday’s game began at 4:30 P.M., and was supposed to segway into a doubleheader. However, the game lasted over three hours thanks to a rain delay, and inclement weather postponed the scheduled second game. Despite rainy conditions, Blair Stadium still filled 166 seats, and the players on both sides gave spectators a spectacular show.
On June 16, the Senators came back down 6-0 against the TBolts, and won it 7-6 off a walk-off homer in Waldorf. Last night, the TBolts came back down 7-1 to tie it up at Blair. However, the Senators still got the last laugh, and it came in a similar manner to their first meeting.
Griffin Roussell (Jr., Point Park) made his third start this season for the Thunderbolts. The righty got his day going by striking out Braylen Gonzalez (Jr., Binghamtom) on a filthy fastball. After a single and stolen base, Chase Fulford (So., Binghamton) came frolicking home via an RBI groundout. The first inning closed with two silky putouts by Thunderbolts third baseman Sam Camacho Jr. (So., Clarion).
The Sens began the second with walks by Jackson Hays (So., Yale) and Joey Todd (So., Richard Bland). Camacho continued to contain the leakage with a bare-handed putout near the mound. Rain began to spit at Blair, and Gonzalez poured it on with an opposite field hit to left. Hays came around to score, but left-fielder Cam Baker (Jr., Indian River State) fired a long bullet to Kai Schmelzer (Fr., Gulf Coast State) to gun down Todd.
In slippery second-inning conditions, right-fielder Griffin Puvel (Rider) reached first on an error, and fell to the ground as he rounded first. Nonetheless, the 6”5’ Puvel was still able to pedal to second, and eventually scored (with a dirty jersey) off a Camacho groundout.
Leading 3-1, the Senators worked a walk, slapped a single, and were hit by a pitch to begin the third inning. With the bags juiced, the drizzle turned into a dreadful downpour at Blair. The game was officially delayed at 5:25.
After a monotonous half hour, players began stretching and getting ready for action. Unlike every other rain delay this summer, the field at Blair was able to hold up through the wet conditions.
The resumed action gave way for Emilio Rodriguez (Sr., La Salle) to make his pitching debut for the TBolts. While the rain stopped, the Senators kept the storm coming. With the bags still full, left-fielder Josh Tseronis (Fr., Delaware) seared a high fly ball into the right field trees. In the flash of a grand slam, the Sens were up 7-1.
Gabriel Pegues (So., Lynchburg) joined the power party in the third inning. Pegues pieced a ball that ricocheted off the right-field fence, and hustled to third with a stand-up triple. Afterward, first baseman Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) brought Pegues home on a groundout to second.
The TBolts continued to bring demeaning defense in the middle bulk of this matchup. In the top of the fourth, Schmelzer shot his fifth assist of the season to Matthew Kim (Sr., Hampden Sydney) to send down the Sens on a stolen base attempt. This was followed in the fifth with a poised play by shortstop Jona Acosta (So., North Florida). After a grounder got under the glove of Camacho, his Miami counterpart snagged it while shifting to his right. Acosta converted a clean throw to Frickey for his 29th assist of the season.
The Thunderbolts’ premier defense translated at the plate in the bottom half of the fifth. Acosta lasered a two-RBI single to right-center, scoring Kim and Schmelzer. Afterward, Nolan Kutney (Gr., UMBC) connected for a sac fly to dead center, and the Sens lead shrank to 7-5.
In the top of the sixth, the Thunderbolts eclipsed an electric double play. Rodriguez punched out Gonzalez looking, and Schmelzer gunned down Fulford at second for his second assist. Speaking of Rodgriguez, the righty bounced back in a beautiful way after giving up the grand slam. With his rocking fastball and cruel curveball, the righty struck out nine Senators in five innings pitched—four of his K’s came looking. E-Rod’s nine K’s are the most thrown by a Thunderbolt in a pitching outing this season.
In the bottom of the sixth, Camacho and Pegues teamed up to tie it up at 7-7. Camacho sent an oppo taco RBI single to right, while Pegues pieced a sac fly to left-center that scored Sam.
Thanks to stellar pitching from Rogriguez and Logan Harelson (Jr., Millersville), the game headed to extra-innings (which in this case was the eighth, because the game was scheduled to go seven). With a drizzle starting to return, Josh Tseronis struck the right field trees like a flash of lightning once more. The lefty launched his second homer of the game, and the Sens shot ahead 8-7.
Dawson Wetherald (Sr., Mount Aloysius) was able to shut it down for the Sens in the bottom of the eighth. While Kim worked a two-out walk, he was stranded after Pegues popped out to end the game. This was Wetherald’s second save of the season for the Sens, while Harelson secured his first win.
In one of their best defensive performances all season, the TBolts struck out 12, recorded eight assists, and committed zero errors. However, Tseronis and the Sens were able to strike Silver Spring-Takoma with enough thunder to thrive in the rain. Southern Maryland amassed eight hits, drew eight walks, and stole four bases. With his two dingers, Tseronis alone batted in five of the Senators’ eight runs.
After the conclusion of this game, Head Coach’s Brock Hunter and Scott Middleton deemed that the rain would not yield an efficient second game; this game will be rescheduled for another date. As for tonight, the TBolts will be back at it at Shirley Povich Field for their sixth showdown with the Bethesda Big Train.