Thunderbolts Search for Their First Victory Over Olney Tonight at Blair
SILVER SPRING, JULY 6—In a few hours, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (7-19) will play the Olney Cropdusters (17-9) for the sixth time this season. Olney is a perfect 5-0 against the Thunderbolts this season, and have outscored the TBolts by a combined 47 runs in those matchups.
Last night, the Thunderbolts took an early 3-0 lead over the Alexandria Aces, but the game was suspended in the third inning due to a lightning storm. Sam Camacho Jr. (Clarion) and Cam Baker (Indian River State) both had RBI knocks, and Matthew Kim (Hampden-Sydney) authored a sac fly before the game came to a halt.
Brady Grimes (Millersville) will make his fifth start on the mound for Silver Spring-Takoma. The righty has a WHIP of 1.71, and has collected 14 strikeouts in 14 innings. Grimes’ last outing came against Olney at First Responder Field on June 26. In their 7-1 loss, Grimes threw 2.2 innings, struck out four, allowed five hits, and surrendered four earned runs.
The Cropdusters have six All-Stars heading to Bethesda tomorrow, and each of them have caused destruction to the TBolts. Notably, first baseman Dylan Melton (UMBC) is 6-12 with four RBIs and a home run against Silver Spring-Takoma. Additionally, outfielder Andrew Duncan (Duke) is 4-12 with five RBIs against the TBolts.
Simply put, the Cropdusters have the best pitching staff in the Ripken League. Their team ERA of 5.01 currently stands as the lowest in the Ripken League. On top of that, the Cropdusters conceded the least amount of hits (183), runs (125), and hit-by-pitches (17). In their last affair with Olney, the TBolts offense tallied just three hits and were struck out eight times. Silver Spring-Takoma will need to take a patient approach at the plate if they want to salvage their first win against the Cropdusters.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 P.M. at Blair Baseball Stadium. Peter Kelly and Brian Alves will have all of the coverage tonight on the Thunderbolts YouTube channel.