Bolts fall in ninth-inning walk-off
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JOLIET, IL – Cam Suto hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth as the Joliet Slammers beat the Thunderbolts 2-1 at Slammers Stadium Saturday night.
In a departure from Friday’s 19-18 game, Tyler Wehrle and Gunnar Kines each tossed zeroes on the scoreboard for the first four innings. Joliet (9-16) had more opportunities, loading the bases on walks in two of the first four frames but they didn’t score.
The ThunderBolts (12-14) broke the stalemate with a two-out run in the top of the fifth. Josue Urdaneta kept the inning alive with a bloop single. He stole second base and scored on a Michael Sandle RBI single.
Joliet responded in the bottom of the inning as Ian Battipaglia led off with a double, the Slammers’ first hit of the game. With two outs and Battipaglia at third, Peyton Carr doubled him home to tie the score.
It remained tied into the ninth, when Blake Berry drew a leadoff walk for the Slammers. A groundout moved the winning runner into scoring position and a wild pitch advanced him to third. One pitch later, Suto hit a line drive into right field to bring home pinch runner Patrick Ward and win the game for Joliet.
Jake Carroll (1-1) recorded the last out in the top of the ninth and was credited with the win. CJ Jensik (0-1) allowed the final run to take the loss. Wehrle, making his first start in 13 days, allowed only one ruins in his five innings.
The Bolts will try to win the series on Sunday afternoon with Francis Ferguson (1-2, 7.88) making his team debut on the mound. Joliet counters with Ryan Daly (2-1, 4.94). Game three of the series from Slammers Stadium is scheduled for 1:05 CDT and the broadcast details can be found at wcthunderbolts.com
