TBolts Tally a 14-Run Seventh Inning, Split DH With Aces In Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, JUNE 20—The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (4-11) and Alexandria Aces (9-8) played a thrilling set of games last night at Frank Mann Field. Both teams were coming off painful losses, and were hungry to get back into the win column. Additionally, Alexandria was looking to avenge their 20-0 loss at Blair Stadium from June 15. Since this was a doubleheader, both of these games went seven innings. Nonetheless, they still felt as long—if not longer—than regular nine-inning contests.
In game one, the Thunderbolts routed the Aces with an incredible come-from-behind 19-8 victory. In a game where the pitching was lacking and three errors were committed, the Thunderbolts offense took command and simply refused to lose. In total, the TBolts tallied 17 hits, drew eight walks, and swiped four stolen bases.
After scoring the first run from an Aces error, Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) sent a sac fly to center to put the TBolts up 2-0 in the second. In the third, Cam Baker (Indian River State) and Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) both registered RBI singles to give Silver Spring-Takoma a 4-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Aces hammered four hits, sizzled three consecutive RBI singles, and scored off an E3 to take a one run lead. The TBolts then nodded things up at 5-5 after a balk brought Colin Gibbs (Jr., Maryland) home.
The Aces stacked up the cards against Silver Spring-Takoma in the sixth inning. Alexandria scored three runs off of three hits, and watched as runners advanced on two wild pitches. Trailing 8-5 in the seventh, it seemed like the Thunderbolts were heading for another heartbreaker. However, the Thunderbolts whipped out a brand new deck of cards against the Aces, and seamlessly shuffled them to perfection.
Mason Kelleher (Frostburg St.), Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson), and Gibbs were all able to reach with one out to load the bases. It was then that Camacho Jr. crushed a double to left-center field to score Kelleher and Frickey. With the lead cut to 8-7, the pendulum was beginning to swing for the TBolts.
Jona Acosta (So., North Florida) splashed a 2 RBI single to center, which gave the TBolts a newborn 9-8 lead. From then on, the Thunderbolts poured on a dangerous downpour. Baker cooked up an RBI single, and Griffin Puvel (Sr., Rider)—who came in as a pinch hitter—was hit by a pitch to plate another. After Kelleher drew a bases loaded walk, Frickey, Gibbs and Baker all recorded two-RBI singles.
After Acosta came in off a wild pitch, the TBolts took an extraterrestrial 11-run lead. Their 14 runs is the most Silver Spring-Takoma has scored in an inning all season. Seven TBolts batters came around to bat twice in this savvy seventh inning. In this roulette of a rally, the Thunderbolts vaporized Alexandria pitching with nine hits and five walks.
In game one, Acosta went 3-6 with 2 RBIs and a walk; his clutch hit in the seventh was key in helping the TBolts seize the victory. After game one, the Miami native said, “We just put up a good team at bats, no one was selfish, and we all took our walks. We were waiting for our pitch, and we just did what the team needed to do at that moment to put us on top.”
The TBolts took this big win into their second game with Alexandria. This match proved to be much more mellow, as the adrenaline from both teams seemed to fizzle out from the action-packed first game. Pitching proved to be poised by both sides, and the Aces ultimately claimed a 4-2 win.
In the first inning, first baseman Connor Frickey snagged a beaming line drive, but the TBolts then surrendered a run off an E4 that sailed past Frickey. Outfielder Cam Baker—the “bake show,” as pitcher Josh Erd hollered from the dugout—blessed the TBolts with an RBI single to tie it up at 1-1 in the third. Aces third baseman Noah Harvey sliced a single to grow the Alexandria lead in the fourth, and it seemed the Aces had a new set of chips in the pot.
EJ Youngling (Jr., Moravian), made his first start of 2026 after three previous relief appearances. Youngling twirled three innings, struck out a pair of Aces, issued two walks, and allowed zero earned runs. Head Coach Brock Hunter thinks highly of Youngling, who is now in his second year with the TBolts.
“EJ has been pitching better every time he’s come out. I’m really proud of him and what he’s putting together this season, from last summer to this summer. He’s just been awesome for us,” Hunter told Patrick Moran after last night’s doubleheader.
After Youngling exited, Griffin Puvel put pedal to the medal with an RBI single that rolled through 4-6 whole; Matthew Kim travelled from first to third, and watched as Frank Man Field dirt flew into the night sky on his stealthy slide.
The fifth inning featured platinum defense by Silver Spring-Takoma. With a runner on first, third baseman Sam Camacho Jr. fielded a hard-hit grounder and fired to Gibbs at short for a key first out in the fifth. Aces DH Cooper Scott (Jr., Dallas College Mt. View) scolded a double to right-center field, which yielded a ridiculous relay by the TBolts. Baker picked up the rolling ball near the fence, and rifled it to Kim at second. Kim quickly fired to catcher Kai Schmelzer, who applied a terrific tag to a speedy Jack Warner (So., Penn). The Thunderbolts dugout exploded in elation, and assistant coach Max “Skip” Eckert hopped out of the dugout to applaud Baker, Kim, and Schmellzer.
This euphoria was short-lived for the Thunderbolts. Outfielder Brad Larson (Jr., Rhodes College) lasered a single to right-center, and the Aces redeemed themselves by cashing in the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Elijah Grant (Jr., Presbyterian) slid home head first after a wild pitch took the TBolts off course.
Unfortunately, the Thunderbolts were not quite able to record another 14-run seventh inning. Instead, Silver Spring-Takoma struck out three times to end the game, and fell 4-2.
Alexandria was able to bounce back nicely after their game one debacle, and only needed two pitchers to get the job done. Southpaw Jack Feehery (Jr., Duke) and right-hander Brody Shawn (Jr., High Point) both struck out seven batters each. In his three innings of work, Shawn rendered the Thunderbolts hitless to close things out.
After an exhausting night of baseball, the Thunderbolts and Aces drew even in their action-packed doubleheader at Frank Mann Field. In total, the Thunderbolts have scored 41 runs against Alexandria this season—they have scored 113 for the whole summer. Up next for Silver Spring-Takoma will be the Olney Cropdusters, who squandered the Thunderbolts just two days ago.