The ThunderBolts lost a late lead and fell 7-6 on Saturday night at All Pro Freight Stadium. The Lake Erie Crushers ensured the victory on an Andrew Davis two-out walk-off home run.
The ThunderBolts held the lead almost the entire game as they got on the board in the first inning when, with two outs, Ryan Basham singled and Jeremy Hamilton walked leading up to Zach Aakhus’s two-run double. Windy City extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning when Michael Torres scored Ryan Basham on a suicide squeeze with the bases loaded.
The story of the game early, though, was Bolts’ starter Andrew Werner. The lefty threw 4.2 perfect innings before hitting Joel Collins. His no-hitter lasted five innings but Arden McWilliams broke it up with a leadoff single in the sixth. This began a three-run inning for the Crushers that chased Werner from the game after recording just one sixth inning out. RBI hits in the rally came from Jodam Rivera and Drew Saylor, who knocked in two.
Windy City, however, did not waste any time taking the lead back. With Hamilton on base in the top of the seventh, Ryne White hit his fourth home run of the season. It became 6-3 in the eighth when Basham tripled in Gilberto Mejia.
The game fell apart for Windy City in the bottom of the eighth. Brandon Garner was pulled from the game after loading the bases with one out on three walks. Nick Hall came in and allowed an RBI groundout for Travis Vetters before Raphael Turner lined a two-run game-tying double to left. After the ThunderBolts did not score in the top of the ninth, Hall came out for another inning. He retired the first two batters despite a ten-minute rain delay during Rivera’s at-bat, and Andrew Davis came up with two out and nobody on. He took a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall giving the Crushers a 7-6 victory.
Hall (3-2) took the loss while JJ Pacella (1-1) received the win. The series concludes Sunday at 4:05. Brent Solich (3-5) takes the hill for Windy City against Lake Erie’s Josh Roberts (5-0). The game from Lake Erie can be heard on WXAV 88.3 f.m.
