Dustin Williams threw a complete game one-hitter in the ThunderBolts’ 18th straight home win. The Bolts maintained their one game lead for first place with a 2-0 victory over the Florence Freedom at Standard bank Stadium Sunday night.
Patrick Rose’s two-out bloop single to right field was the only time a Freedom player hit his way on base. Florence did not have more than one baserunner in an inning the entire night. Two errors and a hit batter were the only other offense for the team.
The ThunderBolts started their scoring in the first inning when Gilberto Mejia walked and stole second base. After Ryan Basham’s single moved him up to third base, Mejia scored on Zach Aakhus’s fly out to right field.
Aakhus was part of the second run as well when he singled to lead off the fourth. After making it to third on a Stephen Shults error, he scored on JT Restko’s single, making it 2-0.
Kevin Whittaker was making his first professional start for the Freedom and he responded very well. He threw 120 pitches over seven innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits, but the night belonged to Williams. He struck out seven batters in his best ballgame of the season. It was Williams’ third complete game of the year and his second shutout. The win improved his record to 6-3. Whittaker dropped to 0-1.
The ThunderBolts begin a huge three-game series against second-place Oakland County on Tuesday after getting Monday off. The series opener will be started by Andrew Werner (9-4) for the ThunderBolts. Tickets for the game are buy one-get one free, and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05. The game can be heard on Sportsjuice.com.
