Bolts 3 Slammers 0
CRESTWOOD, IL – Dyllon Nuernberg threw eight shutout innings as the ThunderBolts defeated the Joliet Slammers 3-0 in front of 1,737 fans in the final home game of the year at Standard Bank Stadium Sunday.
Coco Johnson got the scoring started with a first inning double. He was bunted to third and crossed the plate on an Austin Gallagher sacrifice fly to give the ThunderBolts (39-51) all the offense they would need.
They added a run in the third with back-to-back singles for Larry Balkwill and Johnson putting two men on. Mike Torres brought home Balkwill with a groundout.
Their final run came in the seventh. Ransom LaLonde singled and scored on an Alex Chittenden double.
Nuernberg faced some early trouble on the mound as Joliet (38-52) had eight baserunners in the first four innings. He got out of a jam in the second by striking out two straight hitters with two men on. In the third, the Slammers loaded the bases with one out but Nuernberg induced a double play off the bat of Joe Staley.
Nuernberg did not allow another hit after the fourth and at one point, retired ten in a row. He extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings to start his season after coming off the injured list last week. He allowed four walks and four hits and struck out four while improving to 2-0 with the win.
Spencer Medick (1-4) took the loss, allowing three runs in 6.1 innings and Tommy Nance pitched a perfect ninth, featuring two strikeouts, for his third save.
With the home schedule finished, the ThunderBolts will close out the season on a six-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Florence. Cam Giannini (4-1, 2.19) will start game one for the Bolts against Florence’s Cody Gray (3-2, 4.04). Windy City will try to play spoiler against a Freedom team that currently holds the final playoff spot. Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 5:35 CDT and the broadcast can be heard through wcthunderbolts.com.
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