Nick Kuroczko drove in two runs on a sixth inning single, and the ThunderBolts came from behind to beat the Joliet Slammers 3-1 at Standard Bank Stadium on Tuesday morning. The win marks the first for the ThunderBolts against their new Frontier League rivals.
Todd Privett started for the ThunderBolts and got the game off to a great start by striking out the first three Slammers in the first inning. He retired the first six hitters he faced overall before Kyle Maunus opened the third inning with a double on the first pitch. Lee Rubin followed that up with an RBI single, and the score was 1-0.
Privett settled back in after that, though, and gave up just the one run on four hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
The Bolts’ offense was stagnant against Joliet starter Andrew Moss, who gave up just one hit and faced the minimum through three innings. In the fifth, Windy City finally broke through. Chris Wade led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second by Kuroczko. Two batters later, Mike Torres singled to right, tying the game.
The rally continued into the sixth inning as Ryan Basham singled and Zach Aakhus was hit by a pitch, putting two men on with one out. After Moss was relieved by Kyle Kriech, Garrett Regan struck out and Wade walked, loading the bases with two outs. Kuroczko worked the count full before lining the seventh pitch out to right field, scoring Basham and Aakhus.
Privett pitched a scoreless seventh and Greg Johnson and Bradley Blanks each threw a shutout inning in relief, sending the Bolts to their third victory in four games this season. Privett received the win (2-0) while Moss took the loss (0-1). Blanks picked up his first save.
The same two teams are in action tomorrow morning for the second straight School Day at Standard Bank Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 and the game can be heard on WXAV 88.3 fm and wxav.com.
