Bolts Hammer Slammers in series finale
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CRESTWOOD, IL – An eight-run second inning propelled the ThunderBolts to a 13-4 win over the Joliet Slammers at Ozinga Field Thursday afternoon.
The Bolts (9-10) started their scoring in the first inning when Michael Sandle singled and Jared Beebe brought him home on a groundout. It was the first of three times in the game that Beebe drove in Sandle.
They sent 12 men to the plate in the second inning with the first run scoring on a Josue Urdaneta RBI single. Two batters later, Carlos Pena had a two-run base hit. Beebe followed with his second RBI of the day on a single. Two wild pitches and a bases loaded walk made it an eight-run inning.
Ian Battapaglia’s RBI single got the Slammers (5-12) on the board in the top of the third but that was the only offense they mustered against Bolts starter AJ Campbell, who pitched six innings.
The Windy City offense kept churning in the fourth as Sandle doubled and Pena singled him home, making it 10-1. Beebe’s two-run double in the fifth pushed the lead to 11.
Joliet tried to make a push in the seventh with three runs on four hits, including a two-run double for Jackson Valera, but their offense stalled after that.
James Dunlap hit a two-out single for the Bolts in the eighth for his fourth hit of the game and he came around to score the final run on an Urdaneta base hit.
Leading the Windy City offense, Dunlap finished a career-best 4-for-5, Pena reached base four times and drove in three runs, Beebe had three RBIs and Sandle went 4-for-4 with four runs scored.
Campbell (3-0) was the winning pitcher and Nick Cosentino (0-2) lasted just 1.1 innings and took the loss.
The ThunderBolts begin a two-game series against the Evansville Otters at Ozinga Field on Friday night. Dante Maietta (0-0, 0.00) makes his second start of the year on Beggars Pizza Free Slice Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 and broadcast details can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.
