Baseball: ThunderBolts top Wild Things 3-2
By Logan Malloy For Sun-Times Media May 29, 2012 11:26PM
Updated: July 3, 2012 12:33PM
The speed of Mike Torres and glove of Travis Weaver piloted Windy City on Tuesday night, as the ThunderBolts extended the woes of visiting Washington Wild Things in a 3-2 victory at Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood.
Torres went 3-for-4 with a double, stolen base and run, and Weaver went 2-for-3 with a run before making a dazzling, run-saving stop at third base.
“It was a reaction play. The batter looked like he had been pulling the ball,” Weaver said. “I dove and got lucky, I guess. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”
Nursing a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Weaver — playing in to protect against the bunt after a leadoff double by Washington’s Michael Brando — robbed Joel Carranza of a possible RBI extra-base hit down the line. Weaver showed the reaction time necessary of the hot corner, laying out to make the stop before rising and delivering a strike to first baseman Billy Nowlin for the out.
“A lot of their guys looked like they were showing bunt early, so I was playing up until two strikes,” Weaver said. “It was definitely an adrenaline boost and got me fired up.”
With the win, Windy City improves to 7-3 and remains unbeaten at home this season. Washington dropped in its fourth consecutive game, dipping to 5-5 on the season.
ThunderBolts starter Dustin Williams went six innings and allowed just four hits, but struggled with his control in the early going. The right-hander’s issues were most prevalent in the second, when Washington scoring two runs on zero hits as Williams dished five free passes.
Williams later found his stride, allowing only three baserunners over the next four innings.
The ThunderBolts bullpen entered the contest with a sparkling 1.93 ERA, and again delivered. Andy Mee threw a four-pitch seventh inning, while Shane Zegarac and Tyson Corley didn’t allow a hit over the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
