Thunderbolts Look To Derail Big Train In A Resumed Doubleheader
SILVER SPRING, JUNE 24—The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (4-12) will board a double-decker train tonight at Blair Baseball Stadium. Before a stormy weather suspension, Silver Spring-Takoma held a 6-1 lead over The Bethesda Big Train (9-7) on June 11.
At 4:30, this suspended game will resume in the bottom of the fourth inning. This game will only go seven innings, barring a tie that sends it to extras. Afterward, Silver Spring-Takoma will square off once more with Bethesda for their scheduled 7:00 P.M. matchup.
Thunderbolts starting pitcher Brady Grimes (Jr., Millersville) has been stuck in limbo with five strikeouts from June 11. In Game 1, Matthew Calabrese (So., Frederick CC) will relieve Grimes for the final three innings. The Bowie, MD native has been brilliant for the TBolts in 2026. In nine innings pitched, Calabrese has only allowed five hits, and has nine strikeouts to his name.
In Game 2, Christian Dray (So., Richmond) will take the mound for the TBolts. This will be Dray’s third official start—he began the game against the Braves on June 12, but it was rained out after two innings—for Silver Spring-Takoma. In seven innings, the righty has seven strikeouts and has only allowed one earned run to score.
Cal Johnson (So., College of Central Florida) has been slugging graciously for Bethesda as of late. In his last two games, Johnson is 4-9 with four RBIs, two doubles, and a home run. Zachary Malvasio (So., UCF) is another power bat to look out for tonight at Blair. The outfielder is batting .324 with 10 RBIs, and is tied for the Ripken League lead in home runs with four.
As you can probably tell, Bethesda is big on power hitting; Big Train leads the league in team slugging percentage with .431. They also by-and-far have the most extra-base hits in the Ripken League with 58 (the next best mark is 42). In three games against the TBolts, Bethesda has 33 hits, with 13 of them resulting in extra bases. They have also drawn 40 walks in those three games.
TBolts infielder Jona Acosta (So., North Florida) is batting .314 with a team-leading 11 RBIs. After swiping two bases on Sunday, Acosta leads the Ripken League with 13 stolen bases. Connor Frickey (Sr., Babson) has also been flourishing for Silver Spring-Takoma. The first baseman has a .984 OPS, 9 RBIs and 14 walks.
The Thunderbolts are looking to bounce back tonight after a tough 14-1 loss against the Olney Cropdusters on Sunday. Their Monday matchup with the Metro South County Braves and Tuesday game against the Gaithersburg Giants were both washed out by rain. Therefore, Silver Spring-Takoma should have plenty of energy tonight as they look to secure their first win against Big Train in 2026.