ThunderBolts win series at Southern Illinois
Bolts 3 Miners 2
MARION, IL – The ThunderBolts jumped out to an early lead and held off the Southern Illinois Miners as they won their first series at Southern Illinois in seven years with a 3-2 victory at Rent One Park Thursday night.
The ThunderBolts (31-32) got their first run in the second inning. Cody Keefer hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a Ransom LaLonde groundout and scored on a Kyle Wood groundout.
Doubles in the fourth inning for Corey Bass and Wood added a run to make it 2-0.
The Miners (43-19) cut the ThunderBolts' lead in half in the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles and an RBI groundout from Edison Sanchez.
Despite both teams having several opportunities, the game remained 2-1 until the seventh. Blair Beck and Charley Thurber singled to put men at the corners for the Bolts. Tim Zier followed with a grounder to third. Steve Marino threw home but Beck slid in under the tag to give the Bolts a 3-1 edge.
Southern Illinois tightened it up again in the eighth. Craig Massey doubled to chase starter Jake Fisher from the game. He would score on a two-out single from Marino.
The Miners put the tying run on base in the ninth, but with two outs, Ransom LaLonde made a diving catch on a Shane Kennedy liner to seal the victory.
Fisher (7-4) allowed two runs in seven-plus innings with seven strikeouts for the win and Jarett Miller (5-3) took the loss, allowing three runs in seven innings. Brian Loconsole picked up his third save.
The ThunderBolts continue their six-game road trip on Friday with game one against the Gateway Grizzlies. Clay Chapman (6-4, 3.26) will start the opener at GCS Ballpark for Windy City against Will Landsheft (4-5, 4.69) for Gateway. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 and the game broadcast can be heard through wcthunderbolts.com.