The Rye Thunderbolts will take on the Crowley County Chargers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Rye was able to grind out a solid victory over Hoehne, taking the game 6-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Thunderbolts.
Axton Erlich spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on one hit and racked up 13 Ks. He has become a key player for Rye: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-14 otherwise.
Branson Burbidge
| 04/29/25 vs Hoehne | 3 |
| 04/01/25 @ St. Mary's | 2 |
| 05/10/24 @ Rocky Ford | 2 |
| 04/13/24 @ Crowley County | 2 |
| 04/21/25 @ Lamar | 1 |
On the hitting side, Branson Burbidge was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, two runs, and one RBI. Those three doubles gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kam Arnold, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases.
Meanwhile, Crowley County made easy work of Calhan on Tuesday and carried off an 18-2 win. The result was nothing new for the Chargers, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Tanner Kuhn made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Crowley County got a massive performance out of Tritt Buhr, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, four RBI, and one run. Gunner Hughes was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs.
Crowley County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Calhan only posted an OBP of .381.
Crowley County is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Rye, their win bumped their record up to 5-15.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Rye has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Crowley County struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Rye suffered a grim 8-2 defeat to Crowley County in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Thunderbolts avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
