Josh Domaracki threw six strong innings for the T-Bolts. Photo by Maya Brichacek 

Written by Jack Stashower

The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts defeated the Gaithersburg Giants by a score of 8-4 at Criswell Automotive Field on Tuesday, advancing to Wednesday’s single elimination second round. 

The Thunderbolts entered the play-in as the #7 seed with 13 wins. After a hot start to the 2025 season, a 12-game losing streak plummeted the Thunderbolts down the league rankings before a win over the DC Grays late in the summer helped put the Thunderbolts back on track. 

The Giants entered the play-in as the #6 seed with 13 wins as well, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over their cross-county opponents. Opposite to the Thunderbolts, a slow start to the 2025 season was followed with a seven-game winning streak that pushed the Giants from last in the league to the sixth seed. 

In the season series between the two, the Thunderbolts took the first two games before the Giants took the last three, giving the Giants a 3-2 edge over the Thunderbolts. 

Josh Erd (Frederick CC) started the game with a leadoff walk and quickly followed that with a stolen base, putting himself in scoring position early. A ground ball from Tyson Gill (Clarion) was fielded poorly by the Giants infield, bringing Erd home on a throwing error for the first run of the game. After two wild pitches brought Gill to third, a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of Jack McCarthy (Marymount) scored Gill easily to make it 2-0. 

It would take until the top of the fifth for more runs to be added to the board. Gill led off the inning with a single to left, followed by a Griffin Puvel (Rider) walk. With two runners on, McCarthy hit a double to center, bringing home Gill and increasing the Thunderbolts lead to three. 

That brought Brady Grimes (Millersville) up to the plate with two runners in scoring position, a chance he took full advantage of. He ripped a double down the left field line, bringing home Puvel and McCarthy to give the Thunderbolts a 5-0 lead. A groundout by Caleb Sturtevant (Millersville) brought Grimes home for the Thunderbolts sixth run. 

The Giants’ bats found life in the bottom of the sixth. After a leadoff walk by Danny Orr (UMBC), Bryce Rudisill (Mount St. Mary’s) ripped a double to left, putting runners on second and third. A groundout by Cade Hentz (Jacksonville) brought home Orr for Gaithersburg’s first run of the game. After six, the Thunderbolts led the Giants 6-1. 

Silver Spring-Takoma starter Josh Domaracki (Frostburg State) dominated in his appearance on the mound. In six innings pitched, he allowed just the single run, struck out two and only walked one batter on 83 pitches. 

“Two weeks ago, we knew Josh was going to be our game one starter,” Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter said. “He’s been basically doing that all season.”

Vance Bonior (UMass Amherst) started the Thunderbolts’ half of the seventh with a single up the middle. Sturtevant followed that with a walk, bringing Bryce Curry (Hofstra) to the plate with two runners on. He delivered with a double to right field, scoring both Bonior and Sturtevant to increase the lead to 8-1. 

A single by Gill would have brought Curry home if it weren’t for the arm of Nate Hawton-Henley (Maryland) in center, lasering Curry out at home and keeping the deficit at seven runs. 

The Giants added one more run to their tally in the bottom of the eighth. After a leadoff walk and a stolen base by Brady Powell (Radford), Ryan Maxey (St Johns River State) singled to right, easily bringing in Powell to make the score 8-2. 

Down to three outs remaining, the Giants needed at least six runs to tie the game. Brady Ruiz-Weiss (Yale) led off the inning with a walk and Zach White (Louisiana Monroe) singled to center, putting two runners on early. Hawton-Henley then reached base on an error, putting Powell up to the plate with the bases loaded. 

A single by Powell brought Ruiz-Weiss home, decreasing the deficit to five. With the bases still loaded, Orr’s groundout brought home White and the Giants fourth run. 

But Thunderbolts pitcher Jay Wandell forced the final out of the game, a Rudisill flyout that landed in Bonior’s glove in left field, sending the Thunderbolts to the single elimination second round of the playoffs. 

“We were on the wrong side of a lot of close games,” Hunter said after the game. “It’s good to see us piece it together when it really matters because these guys want to be here a little longer. So now we get to stay at least one more day,” 

The Thunderbolts advance to another winner take all game against the Olney Cropdusters at First Responder Field on Wednesday. The winner of that game will either face the Alexandria Aces or the Bethesda Big Train in the semi-finals.