Belters 9 Bolts 3
CRESTWOOD, IL – The Normal CornBelters jumped out to a 6-0 lead and handed the ThunderBolts their fourth straight loss, 9-3 at Standard Bank Stadium Tuesday night.
Normal (19-14) scored two runs in each of the first three innings. In the first, Jake Fisher walked Mark Micowski and Pat McKenna before Aaron Dudley’s base hit scored them both. They added a pair of runs in the second when Ozney Guillen singled and Jim Vahalik hit his first home run of the year. A McKenna single and Same Judah walk set the stage in the third for a two-run double off the bat of Dudley to make it 6-0.
The ThunderBolts (14-18) got on the board in the third. Coco Johnson singled and stole second and third before Jonathan Garcia singled him home. They got another man to third base before the inning ended on a double play.
The Bolts threatened more seriously in the fifth, loading the bases on a double and two walks. Garcia’s sacrifice fly made it 6-2 before another walk reloaded the bases. A wild pitch scored one run, but Victor Beriguete got Jacob Tanis to pop out, ending the threat.
Normal put the game away on three late runs. McKenna picked up an RBI double in the seventh and scored on a Richard Lucas single. Micowski’s solo homer in the eighth capped the scoring.
Beriguete (2-1) picked up the win, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings in relief and Fisher (1-3) settled down after the third but allowed six runs over six innings for the loss.
The ThunderBolts and CornBelters resume their series on Wednesday morning, the first summer day game of the year and the first dry game ever at Standard Bank Stadium. Austin Wright (2-4, 4.99) will oppose Normal’s Brad Orosey (0-1, 9.64) on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. and the radio broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3-FM and wxav.com.
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