Richard Barrett threw seven three-hit innings and the ThunderBolts responded from a tough loss with an 8-1 win over the Florence Freedom at Champion Window Field in Florence Saturday night.
After a one-hour rain delay, Brandon Anderson started the game with a double for Windy City. After being bunted to third base, he scored on Ryan Basham’s groundout. The ThunderBolts would not get another hit until the fourth inning.
That would not matter, however, as Richard Barrett was even more stingy than Florence starter Ryan Moore. In the first six innings, Barrett allowed just two singles and no runs while striking out seven.
The Bolts broke the 1-0 game open in the fifth with a four-run rally. Jeremy Hamilton’s single knocked in Zach Aakhus, who had tripled. Later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Moore departed and his replacement, Kevin Whittaker allowed a fly ball hit by Nick Kuroczko that left fielder Michael Wheeler lost in the lights. The ball dropped for a triple and scored three runs. Windy City further extended their lead in the seventh when Gilberto Mejia doubled and scored on Basham’s single. JT Restko’s two-run homer, his second in as many nights, put the Bolts up 8-0.
Florence’s only run came on a solo homer by Jimmy Baker in the bottom of the seventh, his 15th of the year. Baker had two of the three Freedom hits. Tom Mueller pitched a perfect eighth inning and Ryan Bollinger, despite loading the bases, threw a scoreless ninth to wrap up the win. Barrett improved to 7-2, 5-0 with Windy City while Moore fell to 0-3.
The ThunderBolts and Freedom square off in the rubber match on Sunday night. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 CDT with Sean Toler (5-0) scheduled to oppose Florence’s Tim Holmes (3-6). The game from Florence, Kentucky can be heard on WXAV 88.3 fm and WXAV.com.
