wcthunderbolts.com

NORMAL, IL – The Normal CornBelters hit three home runs and withstood a ThunderBolts charge to take game two of the weekend series 7-5 at The Corn Crib Saturday night.

Normal (7-13) took a two-run lead just two batters into the bottom of the first inning as Ty Morris singled and Dylan Kelly homered.

The ThunderBolts (15-5) came back with a run in the second. They loaded the bases with one out and Coco Johnson popped up to left field. The ball was dropped by Dillon Haupt, allowing Cody Keefer to score, but Haupt was able to get a force out at third base and the Bolts settled for just one run.

The CornBelters extended their lead with an RJ Perucki solo homer in the third to make it 3-1. They added two more in the fourth, getting a two-out rally that culminated in RBI singles for Kelly and Aaron Dudley.

Wind City stormed back as Coco Johnson hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 5-3. Tim Zier singled and scored on a Blair Beck groundout to bring the Bolts to within one.

Again, though, the Belters distanced themselves. Nolan Meadows hit a solo homer in the fifth and Morris followed a Mike Fish double in the sixth with an RBI single extending the lead to three.

A Kevin Barker solo home run in the ninth, the first of his career, was the only offense the ThunderBolts had left as they fell by the 7-5 final.

Horatio Acosta (1-0) threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Normal to pick up the win. Ryan Strombom (2-1) took his first professional loss, allowing five runs in four innings. Race Parmenter earned his third save.

The rubber match between the ThunderBolts and CornBelters will be played at 4:35 on Sunday. Mitchell Cody (0-0, 2.08) will make his first professional start for Windy City against Normal’s Chris Carmain (0-3, 6.28). The broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3 FM and wxav.com.

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