Written by Jack Stashower

The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts defeated the Gaithersburg Giants in a 9-8 thriller on Thursday at Blair Stadium. The Thunderbolts stand on top of the North Division with a 5-2 record. 

Last year’s North Division champions have stumbled out of the gate, with today’s loss dropping the Giants’ record to 1-7. Their last game was a 10-9 loss to the Braves in Lorton, Virginia. The Thunderbolts beat the Grays 8-2 in Woodbridge, Virginia. A win today for the Thunderbolts would increase the winning streak to four. 

It would be the Giants who got on the board first in the top of the first. A single to right by Collin Hughes (VCU) brought in Danny Orr (UMBC) which gave Gaithersburg a quick 1-0 lead. A sacrifice fly in the top of the second hit by Fredy Diaz (Davidson) brought home Brady Powell (Radford) to increase the lead to two. 

The Thunderbolts quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, with Ryan Cuadros (Marymount) singling in Aidan Driscoll (Maryland) to cut the lead in half, 2-1. The score was equalized when a wild pitch brought home Nolan Kutney (UMBC). 

The damage continued with a sacrifice fly from Matt Walters (Cornell) bringing home Cuadros to give the Thunderbolts a 3-2 lead. A second wild pitch brought home Brady Grimes (Millersville) to give the Thunderbolts a two-run lead. Five walks helped spark the Thunderbolts rally. Giants pitcher Evan Cerretani (Denison) came in for relief and struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning. 

Off the back of Cerretani’s pitching, the Giants struck back in the top of the fifth. Hughes grounded out with the bases loaded brought home Diaz to decrease the deficit to one. Joey Nicholson (Gaston) singled in Jayden Brown (Ranger) to tie the game at four apiece. 

In the bottom half of the inning, the Thunderbolts would break away from the Giants. A bases-clearing double from Cuadros got by the left fielder, bringing home Driscoll, Kutney, and Bryce Curry (Hofstra). This was Cuadros’ first start of the year following his wisdom teeth removal, and he performed exceptionally leading the team with four RBIs on the night. 

“He hasn’t faced a pitcher in three weeks, but you know he’s on it, that’s just what he does.” Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter said after the game. “He’s the man.”

The Thunderbolts scored their third run off of a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth, which brought home Josh Erd (Frederick CC) and made the lead 8-4. 

However, the Giants weren’t done. Cracks began to show in the Thunderbolts pitching in the top of the seventh. A failed pickoff attempt went wide which easily brought home Brown to bring the Giants within three. A single up the middle by Hughes brought home Orr to make it 8-6. Zach White (Louisiana Monroe) doubled to deep right field, bringing home Hughes and making it a one-run game. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Thunderbolts added one more run to their lead off of a single by Curry which brought home Kutney. Curry was hitless on the season before tonight’s game in which he got two hits and an RBI. 

With six outs to go, the Giants bats once again found life. A pinch-hitting Brady Ruiz-Weiss (Yale) brought home Ethan McNally (Clarion) to make the score 9-8. The Giants would’ve tied the game if it wasn’t for an incredible defensive play by Kutney at second base in which he turned a would-be run into a game-saving ground out. Hunter said after the game that it was one of the best plays he’d ever seen a second baseman make. 

Thunderbolts pitcher Nicky Keane (Eastern Michigan) closed the game in the top of the ninth, striking out the side in definitive fashion. 

The Giants look to rebound on Friday at home against the DC Grays at Criswell Automotive Field. The Thunderbolts look to keep the winning streak alive at home against the Metro South County Braves at Blair Stadium.