Oller pitches ThunderBolts to win

CRESTWOOD, IL – Adam Oller set a new career high with 15 strikeouts in a dominant eight-inning performance that helped the ThunderBolts to a 4-2 win over the Lake Erie Crushers at Ozinga Field Saturday night.

After Oller struck out two batters in a perfect first inning, Dash Winningham put the ThunderBolts (7-8) on the scoreboard. Following a David Oppenheim walk, Winningham hit his fifth home run of the year to give the Bolts a 2-0 lead.

Lake Erie (9-5) tightened the score in the fourth inning when James Davison singled and moved to second on an error. Dale Burdick doubled him in.

Four consecutive hits in the bottom of the fifth inning delivered the ThunderBolts two more runs. Tyler Straub doubled and scored on an Oppenheim single. After Tyler Alamo singled Oppenheim into scoring position, Winningham picked up his third RBI of the game on a base hit that made the score 4-1.

Oller took control from there, retiring 11 of his last 13 batters faced. Steven Kraft’s leadoff triple in the eighth inning resulted in the second Lake Erie run when Bryan De La Rosa hit an RBI groundout but Dylan Prohoroff threw a perfect ninth inning to cut down the Crushers’ chances.

Oller (2-1) pitched eight innings and allowed just his second earned run of the year. He increased his league-leading strikeout total to 45 with only two walks for the season.

Dylan Mouzakes (1-1) allowed four runs in five innings and took the loss while Prohoroff earned his third save.

The rubber match between the ThunderBolts and Crushers is set for Sunday afternoon. It is JULIE, Inc. Family Sunday and Big Run Wolf Ranch will host a wildlife presentation on the concourse during the game. Kenny Mathews (1-1, 2.00) will make the start for the ThunderBolts against Lake Erie’s Greyfer Eregua (0-1, 3.38). First pitch from Ozinga Field is scheduled for 2:05 and the radio broadcast can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.