CRESTWOOD, IL – The London Rippers scored four runs in the top of the twelfth to defeat the Windy City ThunderBolts 5-1 at Standard Bank Stadium Friday night.
Blayne Weller for the ThunderBolts and Brandon Sinnery for the Rippers matched each other pitch for pitch in the early going as the game remained scoreless until the fifth.
Stephen Cardullo singled with one out in the top of that inning and Joash Brodin doubled him home to give London a 1-0 advantage.
The Bolts were able to tie it up in the seventh. After collecting just three hits in six innings, they had three in a row to load the bases. Zach Aakhus lined out to left field and when the throw went to second base, Chad Cregar came in to score.
The Rippers loaded the bases for the third time in the eighth inning but were unable to score as Andy Mee got Aaron Glaum to ground into a double play, effectively forcing extra innings.
Windy City had one good late scoring chance, when they put men on first and second with one out in the eleventh. They were at second and third with two outs, but the Bolts couldn’t get the big hit.
In the twelfth, London again had the bases loaded with one out and Matt Costello struck out Shane Bagley for the second out, one of 19 strikeouts in the game for Windy City pitching. David Christensen hit a grounder to third that should have ended the inning, but Travis Weaver’s errant throw allowed the winning run to score. Jim Vahalik was hit by a pitch and Brad Agustin singled to add the other three runs and seal the score at 5-1.
Rob Cooper (1-0) pitched .2 innings for his first career win while Costello (1-1) took the loss.
The series continues Saturday night on Country Night at Standard Bank Stadium. There will also be a fireworks show after the game. On the field, Mike Recchia (6-2, 2.79) will get the call for the ThunderBolts while London throws Matt Schimpf (2-4, 4.73). The game is scheduled to begin at 6:05 and the broadcast can be heard on WXAV, 88.3 fm and wxav.com.
Box Score
