NEWS

Thunderbolts starter Gabe Wheeler pitched four shutout innings in his first appearance of the year.  

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Written by Jack Stashower | Photo by Maya Brichacek

 

The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts beat the Alexandria Aces, 3-2, at Blair Stadium on Monday. The Thunderbolts advance to 3-2 on the season, good for second in the North Division.

 

Both the Aces and the Thunderbolts came into this game with a 2-2 record. The Aces lost their previous game on Saturday to the Metro SoCo Braves 8-1 in Lorton, VA. The Thunderbolts were victorious in their last game on Saturday at home against the Olney Cropdusters 8-4.

 

Both team’s starters excelled in the early stages of Monday’s game. Aces starter AJ Murray (Bucknell) tossed four shutout innings, striking out three and only allowing one hit. Thunderbolts starter Gabe Wheeler (Tampa) also threw four scoreless innings, striking out one and allowing just three hits. With Wheeler’s successful outing, no Thunderbolts starter has given up an earned run this season.

 

The only runs for the Aces came in the top of the fifth. A bloop single hit by Jovan Gill (Grand Valley State) brought in Diego Pena (Western Michigan) and Derek Almeda (Chaffey), breaking the deadlock and giving the Aces a 2-0 lead. The damage would be contained by Thunderbolts pitcher Bryce Greene (FIU), who had just joined the team the night before. This summer marks Greene’s third straight year on the Thunderbolts. 

 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Thunderbolts were determined to put some runs on the board. Nolan Kutney (UMBC) got on the bases early with a single up the middle. Caleb Sturtevant (Millersville) walked and Josh Erd (Frederick CC) reached first on an error by the second baseman to give the Thunderbolts a bases loaded opportunity with no outs. 

 

A single to left by Matt Walters (Cornell) was all it took to tie the game, bringing home Kutney and Sturtevant. A fielder's choice off the bat of by Bryce Curry (Hofstra) brought home Erd giving the Thunderbolts a 3-2 lead. 

 

The Thunderbolts could’ve added more runs with runners on second and third, but Aces third baseman Michael Powell (Penn) made an incredible diving catch on a line drive to third, which allowed him to easily turn the double play, getting the runner out at second. 

 

Powell was the defensive star of the game, making multiple big plays to keep the Aces in the game, including a leaping catch in the bottom of the eighth to keep the Aces hopes alive.

 

Adan Longoria (South Florida) impressed in his appearance for the Aces, throwing two scoreless innings, only giving up one hit and striking out four. 

 

Despite an all around positive team performance, the Thunderbolts pitching was the highlight of Monday’s game. In his first outing with the team, Greene threw 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, giving up no hits and striking out one. 

 

“He’s been a top 5 pitcher in the league every year,” Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter said of Greene. “He keeps getting better and better, and I think we saw that today with his performance.”

 

Nicky Keane (Eastern Michigan) took over for Greene in the eighth inning and didn’t look back, only facing six batters to close the win out for the Thunderbolts. In the top of the ninth, Keane struck out the side, fanning Ayden VanEnkevort (Grand Valley State) to end the game. 

 

The Aces will look to rebound on Tuesday when they face the Gaithersburg Giants at Criswell Automotive Field in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Thunderbolts look to continue the winning streak on Wednesday where they will travel to Woodbridge, Virginia to face the DC Grays.