O’FALLON, MO – The ThunderBolts scored six runs in the third inning and led 7-1, but the River City Rascals scored nine times in the final three innings to hand the ThunderBolts their fourth straight loss, 10-8 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.
The Rascals struck first with an unearned run in the first inning after a Josh Spence throwing error. Spence settled in, though, retiring the next 12 batters.
The ThunderBolts broke through with a six-run third inning. Seven straight men reached, starting with Jon Mestas, who doubled. Mike Torres and Kyle Robinson walked to load the bases before a Ryan Soares two-run single. Evan Button reached on a fielder’s choice that scored another run and Max White doubled home two runs to make it 5-1. The scoring for the inning concluded when Davidson Peguero reached on an error, bringing home White.
The Bolts added to their lead on a Garrett Carey RBI double in the fifth.
It was 7-1 heading into the sixth, when the Rascals came back to tie the score. They sent 12 men to the plate and got RBIs from Zach Kometani, Hector Crespo, Josh Ludy, Eric Williams, Johnny Morales and Taylor Ard in the six-run inning.
The ThunderBolts quickly took the lead back with a Soares triple and White RBI single.
River City claimed the lead for good, though, in the eighth. An RBI single for Williams tied the score and Brian Hansen stole home as part of a double steal to take the lead. Another RBI hit from Morales finished the scoring at 10-8.
Bryce Shafer (1-0) retired one batter for the win and Reese McGraw (0-1) took the loss. Gabe Shaw earned his 15th save.
The ThunderBolts will take the next four days off for the Frontier League all-star break. They will resume play on Friday, when they travel to Joliet to take on the Slammers in the final leg of their 12-game roadtrip. Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:05 and the broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3 FM and wxav.com.
Box Score
