T-BOLTS GET DUSTED UNDER THE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
OLNEY, JUNE 26- As great New York Yankees’ catcher Yogi Berra once said, it’s deja vu all over again. The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (5-14) spent a Friday night at First Responder Field to play the Olney Cropdusters (14-6) and dropped it 7-1.
To get the evening started, the T-Bolts went down in order against Cropdusters’ starter Logan Hartman (Jr., Jacksonville). Brady Grimes (Jr., Millersville) took the hill as Hartman’s counterpart, and the Cropdusters’ second baseman Patrick Gozdan (Jr., West Cherster) doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and was singled home by centerfielder Dylan Melton (So., UMBC). Just like that, the Dusters were up 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
Brady Grimes started this game for the T-Bolts.
Hartman faced the minimum for a second time, and the Cropdusters once again got the leadoff man on to start the bottom half of the inning. Third baseman Ryan Bouma (Sr., Frostburg St.) drew a walk, and got to third on two wild pitches. Designated hitter Ben Bolhouse (Jr., West Chester) almost spelled trouble on a double in the right-center gap, but time was called and granted just before the pitch was thrown.
Instead, he walked, and Grimes was in a bases loaded, nobody out situation. Grimes responded by striking out back-to-back hitters and got a flyout to escape the jam allowing no runs, keeping the score where it was.
T-Bolts still had no answers in the top of the third, as Hartman ran through the order once without allowing a hit. Cropdusters’ shortstop Zakye Hawkins (Jr., U of New Mexico) hit a one-out single and first baseman Max Wearing (Fr., Rutgers) walked shortly after.
Ryan Bouma hit a grounder to Bolts’ shortstop Jona Acosta (Fr., UNF), and Acosta went to third for the fielder’s choice. The call was originally safe on the field, but T-Bolts’ Head Coach Brock Hunter got the call overturned. It was a huge second out for Grimes, but the Dusters didn’t care.
Ben Bolhouse drove both runners in on an RBI double, and catcher Jimmy Bell (So., Campbell) did the same. Subsequently, the leash was short for Grimes, as he was pulled for righty Tristan Merritt (Fr., Frostburg St.). Grimes finished with 2.2 innings pitched, five hits, four earned runs, four walks, and four strikeouts on 72 pitches.
The top of the order for the T-Bolts didn’t score in the top of the fourth, but they did break up the perfect. Jona Acosta shot a single through the right side as he continued to stay hot at the plate.
The Bolts kept Tristan Merritt in the game, and he proceeded to toss a scoreless frame. The Cropdusters also made a pitching change of their own, as lefty Carson Kelm came into the ballgame. Hartman had a fantastic night, tossing four innings of scoreless baseball with only one hit allowed and striking out seven of the ten hitters he faced, throwing a total of 54 pitches.
In the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Bouma smacked a double and Ben Bolhouse walked to set up a two-run triple for pinch-hitter Cade Walter (So., Jacksonville), extending the Cropdusters’ lead to 6-0.
Both teams posted zeroes in the sixth inning, and Merritt continued to roll with a 1-2-3 frame. Carson Kelm’s day was done after two innings of hitless baseball with two walks and no punchouts on 25 pitches, prompting the Dusters to summon the CRSCBL Pitcher of the Week Ben Jones (Jr., West Chester).
Jona Acosta started the top of the seventh by chopping a single up the middle, but it was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play.
Jona Acosta broke up the perfect game and shutout in his two-hit performance.
Once the game got to the bottom of the eighth, southpaw Jibril Scott (So., Benedict) took over for Tristan Merritt. He finished his day with a very important 3.1 inning performance to save the bullpen to save a double header while allowing three hits, two earned runs, a walk, and punching out four, all on 53 pitches. Given Merritt hadn’t thrown since June 18, his arm had the mileage to cover so many innings out of the bullpen.
In his inning of work, Scott gave up three hits, one earned run, no walks, and one strikeout on 19 pitches.
To finish off the ninth, the Cropdusters brought in lefty Joey Zito (So., East Stroudsburg) to face the top of the Bolts’ order. Designated hitter Gabe Pegues (So., U of Lynchburg) tapped an infield single and stole second and third, and Jona Acosta plated him on an RBI groundout to break up the shutout. Zito worked around it and ultimately sealed the deal, improving the Dusters’ win streak to four games.
Carson Kelm was the pitcher of record for the Cropdusters, improving to 2-0 on the season, while Brady Grimes took the loss for the T-Bolts, dropping to 0-2. Tomorrow will be a double header at Blair Baseball Stadium against the Southern Maryland Senators, so get out to the yard or catch Peter Kelly and I broadcasting the action on the Thunderbolts Baseball YouTube Channel.