ThunderBolts Honored with Postseason Awards

CRESTWOOD, IL – The Frontier League announced their end-of-season awards on Thursday afternoon and the Windy City ThunderBolts were honored with three winners. Manager Tom Carcione was named the Roger Hanners Award winner for the league’s best manager, Carlos Peña was named to the Postseason All-Star Team as the best designated hitter in the Frontier League and Terry Bonadonna was named top broadcaster.

Tom Carcione becomes the second manager in franchise history to win the Roger Hanners Award. He joins Andy Haines, who won it after leading the 2007 ThunderBolts to a Frontier League title. Carcione is in his first season as manager of the Bolts and has already raised the team’s win total from 36 to 53 with four games still remaining. He has guaranteed a winning record, the club’s first since 2017, and won more games than in any Windy City season since 2012.

2026 is Carcione’s first year managing in the Frontier League, but he has been a coach in the league for six years. He has also coached pro ball in the American Association, Can-Am League and Northern League. He has spent time in the college ranks as well as both a head and assistant coach.

Carlos Peña was honored as the Frontier League’s top DH for his stellar rookie campaign. He entered play on Thursday hitting .313 with a 1.013 OPS. He’s on pace to break the franchise record for slugging percentage with a .611 mark and his 19 home runs are the most for any Windy City batter since 2017.

Peña primarily played outfield early in the season before becoming a full-time DH in July. He is the first ThunderBolt to be recognized on the Postseason All-Star team since outfielder Coco Johnson and reliever Brian Loconsole received the honor in 2017. He’s the Bolts’ first designated hitter to be honored since 2005.

The ThunderBolts’ third honoree was Terry Bonadonna, who was named the co-winner of the Robert Ford Award for top Frontier League broadcaster. Bonadonna is in his 13th season broadcasting games for the Bolts and his 17th with the organization overall. He also received the award in 2016.

The ThunderBolts enter the final four games of the season tied for the final playoff spot. They close the season with three games against the team they are tied with, the Florence Y’alls, at Thomas More Stadium in Kentucky this weekend.