(CRESTWOOD, IL) - The ThunderBolts ended a two-game losing streak Saturday night as they jumped on the Washington Wild Things early and often in a 10-2 victory at Standard Bank Stadium.
Windy City trailed early as Dustin Williams walked Wilson Matos with the bases loaded in the top of the first, but Williams got out of the bases loaded jam without any further damage and from there it was all Bolts.
In the second, Windy City took the lead for good. Mike Mooney led off with a double and scored when Michael Torres's sacrifice bunt was thrown away, sending Torres in to second. He scored on Gilberto Mejia's RBI single.
They extended the lead to 3-1 the next inning on a Zach Aakhus double followed later by a Mooney sacrifice fly. It became 5-1 in the fifth on an RBI hit from JT Restko to score Ryan Basham, who doubled. Mike Mooney's RBI groundout finished the inning's scoring.
A Denny Duron seventh inning homer was the last blemish on Williams'day. He went seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out nine in his seventh victory of the year. The bottom of the seventh blew the game open for the ThunderBolts. They batted around and collected five hits, including a Restko RBI triple, a Torres RBI double and run-scoring hits from Nick Kuroczko and Gilberto Mejia.
That made the score 10-2, which became the final. Williams improved to 7-3 while Matt Rossignol allowed five runs over four-plus innings to take the loss (0-3). Tom Mueller and Greg Johnson each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. The win, coupled with Traverse City's win over Oakland County extends the Bolts'division lead to two games over the Beach Bums and Cruisers. Windy City's magic number is five.
Sunday concludes the home schedule for the ThunderBolts in 2010. It is Fan Appreciation Night at Standard Bank Stadium with many prizes available to the fans. First pitch is at 6:05. Andrew Werner (10-4) will take the hill for the Bolts against Washington's Justin Edwards (5-1). The game can be heard on WXAV 88.3 fm and wxav.com.
