CRESTWOOD, IL – Mike Recchia pitched his third straight complete game and Chad Cregar hit two home runs as the ThunderBolts defeated the London Rippers 8-1 at Standard Bank Stadium Saturday night.
After the game was delayed by 30 minutes to rain, the Bolts got off to a quick start. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning with one out and Mike Torres singled home Zach Aakhus to put Windy City on top 1-0. Two batters later, Cregar hit his second grand slam of the year, both against the Rippers, to go up 5-0.
London loaded the bases with one out in the third for Mark Samuelson, who hit a hard liner back to Recchia, who threw home to start a double play, ending the inning.
That was the Rippers last serious scoring chance until the seventh inning, when they put two men in scoring position with two outs, but couldn’t score.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Bolts put the game away. Pinch-runner Travis Weaver scored on a Chris Wade groundout and Cregar’s second home run of the night, a two-run shot that also plated Torres, made it 8-0.
Recchia, who had thrown back-to-back complete game shutouts, retired the first batter in the ninth before Ben Magsig and Jim Vahalik hit back-to-back doubles to end his scoreless streak at 26.1 innings. Recchia retired the final two hitters to finish his fourth complete game of the season.
Recchia (7-2) tied teammate Dustin Williams for the league-lead in wins and Matt Schimpf (2-5) lasted just two innings in the loss.
The series concludes Sunday night on Family Night at Standard Bank Stadium. Players will be on the field signing autographs before the game and fans are invited to play catch on the field after the game. On the field, Williams (7-2, 4.83) will get the call for the ThunderBolts while London throws Yohan Gonzalez (3-3, 3.73). The game is scheduled to begin at 5:05 and the broadcast can be heard on WXAV, 88.3 fm and wxav.com.
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