CRESTWOOD, IL – Christian Kuzemka’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth inning completed a come-from-behind victory for the ThunderBolts as they defeated the Washington Wild Things 9-8 in the home opener at Ozinga Field Friday night.
The Bolts (1-1) jumped on the scoreboard early, getting an RBI single from Jose Curpa in the bottom of the second inning, but the lead was short-lived. Washington (0-1) scored four unanswered runs, including two on an Andrew Czech home run.
Windy City clawed back, getting a two-run homer from Kuzemka in the fifth, but they trailed 6-4 at the start of the eighth inning. That’s when the Wild Things appeared to put the game away. They loaded the bases on three straight walks and got back-to-back RBI groundouts to extend the lead to 8-4.
Michael Sandle tightened the contest in the bottom of the frame, whacking a three-run homer, his first as a ThunderBolt, to pull the team within one. In the bottom of the ninth, the Bolts loaded the bases with two outs and Kyle Harbison coaxed a walk to tie the score at nine.
Washington didn’t score in their half of the tenth and the ThunderBolts came through. Oscar Serratos advanced the tiebreaker runner to third base on a groundout and Kuzemka delivered the game-winning flyout to left field, completing the comeback.
Trevin Reynolds (1-0) pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen for the win in his first appearance in nearly two years. Jacob McCaskey allowed the winning run to score and took the loss.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday night as Aaron Evers of the ThunderBolts and Ivan Oviedo of the Wild Things make their season debuts on the mound. It’s Harry Potter Night at Ozinga Field with a postgame fireworks show. First pitch is slated for 6:05 and fans not in attendance can find broadcast details at wcthunderbolts.com.
