Ryan Basham hit a first inning home run and Windy City never trailed Thursday night as the ThunderBolts defeated the Kalamazoo Kings at Standard Bank Stadium in the first of a three-game series.
Already on top 1-0, the Bolts padded their lead with a four-run third inning highlighted by two-run singles for both Zach Aakhus and Ryne White. The Kings, though, fought back. They scored three times in the fourth with Bryan Marquez knocking in two runs on a single.
Windy City increased the advantage to three once more in the fourth when Gilberto Mejia doubled with one out and came in to score on Brandon Anderson’s base hit. Once again, however, the Kings came back. They scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings off of ThunderBolts starter Andrew Werner. Porous defense contributed to the scoring as Werner threw six innings, allowing five runs only three of which were earned.
The Bolts’ two-run seventh effectively cemented the win. Jeremy Hamilton hit an RBI triple and scored on Aakhus’s single. Joseph Poulter homered leading off the Kings’ eighth against Brandon Garner and the next two batters reached as well before Greg Johnson got out of the inning.
Anderson hit a solo homer in the ninth to finish the scoring and Nick Hall pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his eighth save. Werner improved to 6-2 on the win, the Bolts’ third in as many games. Kings starter Joe DiPietro was the loser, dropping his record to 3-7.
Windy City and Kalamazoo continue their series tomorrow on Budweiser Fill ‘R Up Friday. It is also a mini bat giveaway from Chicago Event Graphics. The game begins at 7:05 from Standard Bank Stadium and can be heard on the radio on WXAV 88.3 fm. Brent Solich (4-5) gets the call for Windy City against Kalamazoo’s Curt Dixon (1-2).
