CRESTWOOD, IL – The ThunderBolts completed a season opening three-game sweep of the Frontier Greys Sunday afternoon with a 7-1 win at Standard Bank Stadium.
The Bolts got on the board in the second inning, plating two runs on only one hit. Max White walked and Matt Scioscia singled before Doug Joyce’s fielder’s choice put runners at the corners. Andrew Brauer walked to load the bases and Evan Button was hit by a pitch to force in the first run. They got their second on a Mike Torres RBI fielder’s choice.
Windy City added a run the following inning when Greys starter Pat Lowery again got wild. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases and Max White grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice to make it 3-0.
They used some offense to make it 4-0 in the fifth. Ryan McIntyre doubled, his seventh straight plate appearance in which he reached base. Kyle Robinson followed with an RBI single.
Markus Solbach had allowed only one hit through six innings before the Greys finally got on the board in the seventh. They had three singles, including an RBI from Zach Tanner, who scored Joe Rapp.
The ThunderBolts put the game away with three late insurance runs. An RBI double for Robinson in the seventh made the score 5-1 and White added a sacrifice fly in the same inning. Torres’s run-scoring groundout that scored Andrew Brauer in the eighth made the final score 7-1.
Solbach (1-0) allowed just one run over seven innings to earn the win and Lowery (0-10 took the loss after giving up three runs in four innings.
The ThunderBolts will take Monday off before beginning a series with the undefeated Lake Erie Crushers on Tuesday night. First pitch from Standard Bank Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 CDT and Travis Tingle will make his first start of the year for the Bolts against Lake Erie’s Roberto Padilla. Fans not in attendance can hear the Internet broadcast on meridix.com.
Box Score
