First place in the North Division of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League belongs so far to the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts, who are enjoying a five-game winning streak and a 6-2 record as of June 16. The team is one game ahead of Bethesda Big Train in the North and trails only the Southern Maryland Senators, who are 7-1, for the best record in the league.
Extraordinary pitching and timely hitting have been the magic formula this season, as the team’s ERA of 2.19 is nearly two runs per game below the next-best squad.
“It’s the best start we’ve had on the mound,” said Head Coach Brock Hunter, now in his fourth season.
The team’s next home games are June 18 against the Alexandria Aces at 7 p.m., June 20 against the DC Grays at 2 p.m., and June 22 against the Gaithersburg Giants at 6 p.m. Home games are at Blair High School Stadium.
Hunter credits Ryan Mariani, newly added to his staff, for helping the pitchers get off to a strong start. “His management of the pitchers has been awesome … putting them in the right place, choosing our rotation, working with them between outings,” Hunter said.
Mariani finished his senior year at Marymount University this spring, and the former collegiate pitcher joined the Thunderbolts as an assistant. He had pitched for the Tbolts in 2023 and 2024.
Josh Domaracki, a rising sophomore at Frostburg State, and Jake Treasure, a rising junior at Stevenson University, have been among the league’s top starters, with 7 and 6 scoreless innings, respectively. Meanwhile, Nicky Keane appears to be something the Tbolts have lacked for many years: a lock-down closer for the 8th and 9th innings. The rising junior at Eastern Michigan University has 8 strikeouts and 2 saves so far.
Hunter and his assistant coaches made a major effort to bring in more pitchers this year than ever before: 21 are on the squad. But the pitchers will be tested as the team piles up games in the next few weeks to make up for three recent rainouts. “When you go six or seven days a week, you will have to use 16, even 20, pitchers,” he says. “It will be a big test.”
Several hitters are off to strong starts, including Vance Bonior (junior, University of Massachusetts-Amherst), who is hitting .412 with 3 RBIs, and Griffin Puvel (junior, Rider University), who is hitting .400 with 4 RBIs. Also carrying the offense are Nolan Kutney (junior, UMBC), who is hitting .316 with 3 RBIs, and Josh Erd (sophomore, Frederick Community College), who is hitting .308 with 2 RBIs.
Bonior and Erd are among 10 hitters who are in their second or third year with the Tbolts, and Hunter said that their experience is a key factor in the fast start. “They’ve done a really good job of picking up where they left off last year and showing the guys how to play hard and play to win,” he said.
The complete schedule and team roster for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts can be found online at tbolts.org.