TBolts Trample Grays 14-2 in a Total Team Effort
SILVER SPRING, JUNE 30—The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (6-17) made sure to end June off on a high note. In their Tuesday night duel with the DC Grays (8-15), the TBolts took care of business to surmount a four-game losing streak. In a game where five different TBolts had multiple hits, Silver Spring-Takoma took home a seven-inning 14-2 mercy rule victory.
Starting pitcher Christian Dray (So., Richmond) came into this game having played the Grays two times prior; he struck out seven and allowed seven hits combined in those games. In last night’s rodeo, the righty galvanized the Grays once more in his most masterful performance this summer.
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DC third baseman Hartley Rahman (Jr., Catawba) took Dray’s first pitch of the game to left field for a single. However, Benny Bikar Jr. (Jr., Southern) sent a high popup that caused Rahman to lead too far off first. After making the catch, shortstop Jona Acosta (So, North Florida)—who made stylish plays all night—quickly fired to first for the dynamic double play.
In a funky second inning plate appearance, center-fielder Peyton Ford (Jr. California University of Pennsylvania) tossed his bat aside thinking he took ball four. The umpire deemed it a strike, and Dray dragged himself back from a 3-0 count. Finally, the Richmond Spider slung a high fastball to fan Ford.
Nolan Kutney (Gr., UMBC) and Kai Schmelzer (Fr., Gulf Coast State) both reached to lead off the third. Caleb Sturtevant (Jr., Millersville)—who had not seen the field since June 19 due to injury—came in to courtesy run for Schmelzer. Center fielder Cam Baker (Jr., Indian River State) hustled hard on a grounder, but was deemed out at first. The entire TBolt dugout disagreed with the call, and assistnat coach Ryan Mariani was ejected by the first base umpire.
Later that inning, left fielder Trent Lopez (So., Cornell) calmed the commotion with a lazy fly ball that ricocheted off the glove of Evan Wilson (So., Richmond). Kutney and Sturtevant came home, and the TBolt dugout cried “ball don’t lie!”
In the top of the fourth, Dray shuffled his stuff to strike out three Grays. Evan Wilson—who plays with Dray at Richmond—struck out after digging at a curveball in the dirt. Subsequently, Dray drained Ben Drinkwine (Fr., UNCW) with a check swing to end the inning. Through four fruitful innings, Dray collected a season-high eight strikeouts, allowed four hits, and rendered the Grays scoreless.
“I talked about it with a few of my teammates a few games before, but I like attacking with the heater a lot more,” Dray told Thunderbolts broadcaster Brian Alves after the game. “I had a lot of backup from the dugout and my fielders as well. I just felt like I was commanding the zone pretty well with all three of my pitches.”
Joey King (So., St. Olaf), Matthew Kim (Sr., Hampden-Sydney), and Sam Camacho Jr. (So., Clarion) all slapped singles to juice the bags in the fourth inning. Kutney connected for a right-field hit to score King, and Schmelzer drew a walk to plate Kim. Acosta came to the party with a chopped two-RBI single up the middle, and the TBolt dugout was overtaken with emotion. After a Baker sac fly to center, Puvel powered an RBI single to score Acosta. In total, the TBolts tallied six hits to go up 8-0 after four.
After his dutiful day, Matthew Calabrese (So., Frederick CC) came in to relieve Dray in the fifth inning. The sidearm righty twirled two innings, struck out four Grays, and allowed four hits.
In the fifth, DC scored their first run after a hit-and-run execution. However, Acosta dazzled defensively once more to put an end to the inning. The Miami man made a long reach on a roller moving to his right, and his assist to first baseman Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) was scooped to perfection.
The seventh inning is where chaos began to commence for the DC defense. Silver Spring-Takoma stamped six runs, and it started when Camacho clobbered a left-field RBI single to put the TBolts up 9-2. After a base hit by Kutney, the TBolts played cat and mouse to further deteriorate DC. With Kutney dancing between first and second, it gave Camacho enough time to dash home and beat the throw. Another error, a passed ball, and sacrifice fly put the Thunderbolts in mercy rule territory.
Joey King walked off Bethesda with an RBI single on June 24, and he came through again last night at Blair. King sent a single to shallow center, and Trent Lopez came chugging around the third. The relay throw beat him by a mile, but it was dropped by the Grays catcher. As a result, the Thunderbolts dropped a cooler of water onto King as they celebrated their win in the outfield.
In their 14-2 triumph, the TBolts had 13 hits, secured 13 strikeouts, and committed zero errors. What does not show up in the box score is the energy that erupted in the dugout, and how tight knit the TBolts were with each other. Overall, Head Coach Brock Hunter is a huge fan of the brotherhood that brought the TBolts together last night.
“We finally got to the point where we’re playing the game the way we should be playing it, and the way we need to be playing it. We were loud the whole time, picking up our guys, caring more, and putting more effort into the little things. That pays off,” Hunter told Brian Alves after the game. “I’ve been telling them the whole year, if we get to that point, we’re gonna win games.”
The Thunderbolts are looking to win more games this week, and the Gaithersburg Giants are next on their list tonight at Blair Stadium.