Mike Recchia
CRESTWOOD, IL – Mike Recchia allowed only two hits and threw his third complete game shutout in his last four starts Saturday night as the ThunderBolts defeated the River City Rascals 1-0 at Standard Bank Stadium.
The Rascals put their first two men on base in the first inning and moved them to second and third with one out, but Recchia struck out Charlie Lisk and got Jeremy Synan to fly out to end the threat.
Recchia would go on to retire eighteen out of nineteen hitters between the first and sixth innings.
The ThunderBolts were hitless into the third when C.J. Gillman led off with a walk. Jareck West followed with a single and Travis Weaver moved them each up a base on a bunt. Bob Glover came through with a single to score Gillman and give the Bolts the 1-0 lead.
The one-run lead held for Recchia, who seemed to pick up where he left off after Monday’s 16-strikeout complete game against Evansville. Recchia allowed just one more hit after the first-inning single and only walked three.
River City’s starter, Preston Vancil was almost as good. He allowed only five hits, all singles and aside from the third, the ThunderBolts never had more than one baserunner in an inning.
Recchia struck out one batter in each of the first eight innings before getting all-stars Jason Patton and Lisk both swinging to finish the game. He ended up with ten strikeouts, his third double-digit total this year.
Recchia (6-2) became the first Frontier Leaguer with three complete games in the win. Vancil (2-5) went the distance in a hard-luck loss.
The rubber match of the series and the final game of the season’s first half is Sunday night at Standard Bank Stadium. Standard Bank Family Day at the park will feature ticket deals for a group of four, players signing autographs and the field opening for families to play catch on the outfield after the game. The game begins at 5:05 p.m. CDT and the broadcast can be heard on sportsjuice.com.
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