Bolts drop game one in Traverse City08/26/2011 7:55 PM
 TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Traverse City Beach Bums scored four runs in the fifth inning Friday night to open a big lead and eventually defeat the Windy City ThunderBolts 6-2 at Wuerfel Park.
The ThunderBolts got off to a strong start, scoring their first run in the first inning when lead-off man Brandon Anderson doubled and eventually scored on a Zach Aakhus RBI groundout.
It took until the third inning, but Traverse City responded. Chase Burch doubled with one out, the second of his four hits, and scored on J.T. Hall’s single.
They added a run in the fourth when Tom Zebroski, who had three hits, doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Chris Kay’s suicide squeeze bunt, giving the Beach Bums their first lead of the game at 2-1.
After a seven-minute rain delay, the Bums broke the game open in the fifth. With Hall at first base and two outs, Matt Brown singled and Zebroski’s base hit brought home Hall. After Jeff Flagg walked, Stephen Shults broke the game open with a bloop hit that scored two runs. Chris Kay then popped up to shallow left field, but a miscommunication in the outfield allowed the ball to drop and Flagg scored to finish the rally.
Meanwhile, David Nathanson was nearly unhittable for the Beach Bums. Between a Devin Shepherd second inning double and a Mike Torres sixth inning single, he retired 13 out of 14 batters.
The Bolts finally hit him a little in the eighth. Chad Cregar led off with a home run, cutting the deficit to 6-2. Windy City came up with two more hits in the inning, but a double play ended the chance for a big eighth. Nathanson pitched a perfect ninth to seal the victory.
Nathanson pitched his third complete game in seven starts, and his second against the ThunderBolts, improving to 3-2. Dustin Williams gave up all six runs in the loss (11-6).
The Bolts now trail Traverse City by two games and are 2.5 out of the playoffs with eight games to play. They face a critical test in game two at Wuerfel Park Saturday night. Bryant Cotton (6-8) pitches for the ThunderBolts against Scott Dunn (7-3). Game time is set for 6:05 and the contest can be heard on WXAV, 88.3 fm and wxav.com. Box Score |
Browse by Month »
August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 |
