T-BOLTS IN THE PROS, 2024

MAJOR LEAGUES:
PLAYERS

JONATHAN PAPELBON (2000)
Both the Oakland Athletics (2002) and the Boston Red Sox (2003) drafted Jonathan. He chose the Red Sox, and he quickly climbed the minor league ladder reaching AAA with Pawtucket in 2005. He came up to the Red Sox in August of that season and began a 12-year career in the Major Leagues. He pitched seven years for Boston, four for the Philadelphia Phillies, and ended his major league career in 2016 with the Washington Nationals. He won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2007 and is the all-time saves leader for the Red Sox and the Phillies. Overall, he went 41-36 in the Majors with a 2.44 ERA, appearing in 689 games.

ZACH CLARK (2003/2005):
Zach dominated CRCBL hitters in 2005 and was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. After a few years in the minors, he was called up on May 1, 2013, to pitch against the Seattle Mariners. He went 1.2 innings, gave up three runs on three hits with two walks and one strikeout. He did not figure in the decision and that was his only major league appearance. He played two more seasons in independent ball and then pursued a career as a scout. Since 2017, he has been Northeast Area Supervisor for the Tampa Bay Rays. His seven victories in 2005 ties the CRCBL record for most wins in a season and his 0.67 ERA that season is the lowest in team history and fourth lowest all-time in the Ripken League.

BRETT CECIL (2004-2005)
Brett was a first-round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007 and went 41-42 for Toronto with a 4.20 ERA over eight years. He was named to the American League’s All-Star team in 2013. He pitched two seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2017-2018. He did not pitch due to injuries in 2019 and was released in 2020, then retired in 2021. He threw the only nine-inning no-hit, no-run complete game in CRCBL history in 2005. That season for the Thunderbolts, he had an ERA of 1.27 and opponents hit .186 against him, second lowest opponents BA in team history.

MATT MERVIS (2016)
Matt made his Major League debut with the Chicago Cubs on May 5, 2023, where he went 1-4 and knocked in one run. He was selected in the 2016 Major League Draft by the Washington Nationals but started his professional career in 2021 with the Cubs AAA affiliate, the Iowa Cubs. In 2022, he was with the Advanced A Level South Bend Cubs then was promoted to the AA level Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League. After playing for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he returned to the Iowa Cubs before being promoted to the Majors. For the Cubs, Mervis appeared in 27 games, hit .167, with three home runs and 11 RBIs. He was optioned back to the Iowa Cubs on June 15. In 16 games for the Thunderbolts in 2016, he hit .411 with 21 RBIs.

STAFF

MIKE CHERNOFF (2001)
Mike is the General Manager of the Cleveland Guardians (Indians), one of the youngest GMs in baseball. He specialized in analytics for the team and became Director of Baseball Operations and Assistant General Manager in 2010. He was promoted to the General Manager position in 2015. He played his college ball at Princeton and was on three Ivy League championship teams.

ANDREW MELNICK (2003-04)
Andrew Melnick was the first management intern for the Thunderbolts. He graduated Springfield College with a BA In Sports Management in 2006. In August of that year, he joined the Washington Nationals as a Clubhouse Assistant, a position he still holds.

GREGORY MELNICK (2005-08)
Gregory served four years as Head Intern for the Thunderbolts. His major league career began part time in 2008 as a Clubhouse Attendant with the Washington Nationals and worked his way up to Assistant to the Visiting Clubhouse Manager in 2011, then Full-time Assistant to the Visiting Clubhouse in 2015. He also spent ten months as an Account Executive at Executive Media Communications, a marketing firm in Rockville, Maryland.

BENNETT SHIELDS (2002)
Bennett is one of the few Thunderbolts who also played for Blair High School. After graduating St. Mary’s in 2005, he began his professional baseball career with the Washington Nationals as a Community Relations Intern. He began working for Major League Baseball in 2006 and served as National Team Coordinator for Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He currently is Senior Manager for MLB’s Baseball and Softball Development. He is fluent in Spanish and he remembers his season with the Thunderbolts as one of meeting challenges in baseball which prepared him for meeting challenges in life.

MICKEY SHUPIN (2004-2005)
At GWU, Shupin played from 2004-2007, hitting .288 over his four years with three home runs and 46 RBIs. With the T-Bolts in 2005 (the only year for which we have statistics), Shupin played in 37 games, hitting .248 with no home runs, and nine RBIs. He was a terror on the bases, stealing 18 in 22 attempts. Currently, he is MLB Senior Director for Global Event Operations and the Tournament Director for MLB’s World Baseball Classic

BETHANY WHITE (2010)
At the University of Connecticut, Bethany snagged a management internship in 2010 as Assistant General Manager for the Thunderbolts. After her internship, she left for the New England Collegiate Baseball League and eventually found her way to the Cardinals in 2012 in sales. In January of 2022, she was named the Cardinals Director of Theme Ticket Sales.

COACHES/STAFF: MINOR/INDEPENDENT/OVERSEAS LEAGUES

MICHAEL AUSTIN (2014-2015)
In July of 2023, Michael was appointed pitching coach at Frostburg State University. Previously, he was Head Coach for the Staunton Braves in the summer collegiate wooden bat Valley League. He signed as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2017 season with the Kansas City Royals organization and pitched one season in their farm system. He spent parts of three seasons with the Washington Wild Things, Southern Illinois Miners, and the Quebec Capitals of the independent Frontier League. He also has been working as an instructor at The Baseball Factory in Columbia, Md., and is the owner of Next Pitch Performance.

ALEX BOSHERS (2010)
Alex is now a pitching coach with Legends Sports Academy in St. Heath, Ohio. He spent three years as pitching coach of the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the independent Frontier League. His professional career included stops in Australia (All-Star for Perth Heat) and Nicaragua besides six years and two teams in the American Association. His best seasons were for the Wichita Wingnuts in the American Association when he went 12-3 in 2016 and 11-4 in 2017.

GREG BRODZINSKI (2011) 
Greg begins his second season as manager of the Jersey Shore Blue Claws in the High A South Atlantic League. Previously, he was the bullpen catcher and catching coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2022, he was appointed bench coach of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in the International League. Previously, from 2017-2019, he coached in the New York-Penn and Eastern Leagues. He was drafted by the Phillies in the 18th round in 2015 and played that year for the Gulf Coast League Phillies, hitting .326.

JACK GRAHAM (2014):
Jack begins another season as General Manager of the Class A Baltimore Orioles affiliate, the Aberdeen IronBirds, in 2019. That followed a three-year career in the Orioles farm system. He played for the IronBirds in 2013 when they were Division champions. He had stops with the Gulf Coast Orioles and the Delmarva Shorebirds. In 2014 at Delmarva, he was awarded the Mountaire Outstanding Community Service Award for his dedication to the community.

ALEX YI-CHEN JOU (2017)
Alex was released by Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in December of 2022
and now serves as English and Japanese translator for the team. In the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, he hit .266 for the Thunderbolts in 2017, appearing in 35 games with 12 runs batted in. The next season, playing for the Rockville Express, he had a breakout year hitting .321 in 40 games with six doubles and a triple. His best game for the Express came against the Thunderbolts when he went three for five.

BOBBY ST. PIERRE (2004-2006)
Bobby was Head Coach of the Thunderbolts from 2004 through 2006. In 2004, the team finished in third place in the Clark Griffith League at 25-15. In 2005, the team moved to the Cal Ripken Sr Collegiate Baseball League and, due to inclement weather in the playoffs, shared the first League title with the Bethesda Big Train. During his playing career as a pitcher, St. Pierre was drafted by the New York Yankees and pitched seven seasons in the minors reaching AA in 1998-99. He is currently a scout with the Houston Astros.

ACTIVE:

EVAN BLUM (2019) Evan begins the 2024 season as a catcher with the Billings (MT) Mustangs of the independent Pioneer League. He hit.389 for the Thunderbolts in four games before a major injury put an end to a promising season. After completing his college career on teams at Holy Cross and Georgetown, Evan went professional in 2023 with the Maryville Drakes of the independent Pecos League. There, he hit .340 in 43 games with 55 RBIs including 11 doubles, five triples, and two home runs.

BRENDAN COLLINS (2019)
Brendan is pitching for the Washington Nationals High A Affiliate Wilmington Blue Rocks in the South Atlantic League. He was drafted in the 17th round by the Washington Nationals in 2021, and pitched in the Appalachian League, the Florida Complex League, the FCL Nationals, and the Fredericksburg (Va.) Nationals in the A Level Carolina League. He followed Nats pitcher Stephen Strasburg after Strasburg threw five innings in a rehab stint in Frederick on May 29, 2022.

NICK DUNN (2015)
Nick is playing for the AAA St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. Nick was taken in the fifth round (153rd overall pick) of the 2018 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2018, he played in both the New York-Penn and the Midwest Leagues, batting .253 with three home runs, 14 doubles, and 35 RBIs in 65 games. In 2022, Dunn appeared in 112 games for the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League, hitting .271 with seven home runs and 44 RBI. In 2023, he started with the Cardinals but was promoted in mid-season to the Redbirds.

EN-SIH HUANG (2015):
Huang continues to pitch with the China Trust Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). In 2022, he went 1-3 with a 4.56 ERA. He started 39 of the 44 games in which he pitched. He struck out 168 batters over that span while only walking 68. For the Thunderbolts in 2015, he went 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA, striking out 40 and walking 11 in 43.1 innings pitched.

TANNER JACOBSON (2019)
Tanner was drafted by the St Louis Cardinals in the tenth round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Queens University of Charlotte (NC). The righthander went 0-2 for the T-Bolts in 2019, appearing in six games of which five were starts. He pitched 18.1 innings and had a 7.85 ERA. He began his pro career in 2022 with St Louis, and last season, posted a 4-2 record with Palm Beach in the Class A Florida State League.

CONNOR KELLY (2022)
Connor split time on the mound and behind the plate for the Thunderbolts in 2022; pitching in 12 games and going 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA. Offensively, he hit .237 in 24 games with two doubles and two RBIs. In 2023, he pitched in relief for the Alpine Cowboys of the Pecos League going 1-1 in 14 games with a sparkling 1.47 ERA. He also played for the Ottawa Titans in the Frontier League, going 0-0, with an 8.10 ERA in 6.2 IP. In 2024, he signed with the Rocky Mountain Vibes of the MLB Partner Pioneer League.

CHIH-YUAN LAI (2016):
Lai is pitching currently for the Fubon Guardians of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He was drafted in the 2018 CPBL draft by the Lamigo (now Rakuten) Monkeys. Overall, for the Monkeys, he has appeared in 51 games and had a 5-4 record with one save over 87.2 innings pitched. In 2022. In 2016, he went 4-1 for the Thunderbolts with a 2.64 ERA, striking out 33 and walking only three over 37 innings.

HUEI-SHENG LIN (2017-2018)
Huei-Sheng signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in 2019 but was released by the Dodgers in August of 2022. He has played in both Rookie Leagues and Class A ball. He also pitched for the Rocky Mountain Vibes of the independent Pioneer League and is now with Auckland Tuatara in the Australian Baseball League. In the Los Angeles Dodgers system, he reached Class A with Rancho Cucamonga in the California League. In 22017, he went 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA and in 2018, he went 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA, both seasons appearing in seven games.

YUNG-CHEN LIU (2018)
Liu is pitching for the Wei Chuan Dragons in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. He is a starter for the team that left the CPBL ten years ago but rejoined in 2021Yung-Tai went 2-0 with the Thunderbolts in 2018 with a 4.20 ERA in 17 innings pitched. He appeared in nine games, starting one, and struck out 18 while walking five.

MATT MERVIS (2016)
See Thunderbolts in the Major Leagues.

ZACHARY RACUSIN (2015-2016):
Zachary is in his sixth professional season, playing outfield for the Staten Island Ferry Hawks of the independent Atlantic League. In 2022, he played for five teams in three independent leagues. His overall professional stats include a .298 batting average with 14 home runs and 169 RBIs. He is the owner and Director of Player Development for Rax Hax Pro Performance, a baseball academy and research organization.

LUKE RETTIG (2019)
Luke is in his first season of professional baseball, having joined the Billings (MT) Mustangs, in the independent Pioneer League which is a partner league of Major League Baseball. As a Thunderbolt, the southpaw pitcher went 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 31 innings pitched over seven games. He struck out 32 and did not allow a home run. As a pitcher for Lehigh, his best season was in 2022 when he went 8-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 13 games. He also pitched in the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League and the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He finished up his amateur career in 2023 with the Trenton Thunder in the MLB Draft League, going 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA.

ERROL ROBINSON (2013)
This season, Errol signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and is playing with the AAA Norfolk Tides. Errol had previously been with the AAA Memphis Redbirds of the International League after being signed by the St. Louis Cardinals. He also played for the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League where he hit .269 in 39 games with 12 home runs and 12 runs batted in. Previously, he was a fifth-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Dodgers and was also selected by Cincinnati as a minor leaguer in 2020. He played 443 games for the Sussex County Miners of the independent Frontier League in 2022 where he hit .312.

COREY ROSIER (2018-2019)
Corey plays for the Boston Red Sox AAA affiliate Worcester (MA) Red Sox. He previously spent two seasons with the Portland Sea Dogs of the AA Eastern League. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 2021 Major League Draft by the Seattle Mariners. He spent 2021 playing for four Seattle farm teams in Rookie and A Leagues before being traded to the San Diego Padres. In 2022, he played for the Padres Class A Advanced Fort Wayne Tincaps, then was traded again to the Boston Red Sox. He was assigned to the Greenville Drive of the Advanced A South Atlantic League. In two minor league seasons, he hit .275 with ten home runs and 64 RBIs. Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

KUAN WEI-CHEN (2016)
Kuan-Wei is pitching in relief this season for the Wei Chuan Dragons in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He pitched for the Dragons in 2012 where he went 3-2 with a 3.13 ERA. He struck out 61 batters in 46 innings pitched while walking only 15. He also pitched for Chinese Taipei in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

JAREN ZINN (2018-2019)
Jaren signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals in August of 2022. After a stint in the Rookie League, he was assigned to the Class A Frederick Nationals of the Carolina League in 2022. After the season, he was promoted to the High A Wilmington Blue Rocks in the South Atlantic League. His first two seasons in the minors saw him post a 2-2 record with a 4.34 ERA. He will pitch for Wilmington in 2024.

INACTIVE PLAYERS:

NICK ADGAR (2016)
Nick played briefly with the Road Warrior Black Sox in the independent Washington (Pennsylvania) League. In 2021, he hit .321 with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the independent Mavericks League. Currently, he is living in the San Francisco area where he is a part-time trainer in Efficiency Sports Performance and looking to play with another team.

HAROLD BAINES, JR. (2007)
The son of major leaguer Harold Baines, he was drafted in 36th round by the Chicago White Sox in 2009. The White Sox assigned him to the Bristol White Sox in the Rookie Appalachian League that same year. He batted .147 in 25 games with no home runs and five runs batted in. He retired in 2010.

BRIAN BAISLEY (2002)
Brian was chosen by the New York Yankees in the 24th round of the 2006 draft. He spent 2006 with the Staten Island Yankees in the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League and the Gulf Coast Yankees in the Rookie Gulf Coast League. The rest of his career was with the Charleston River Dogs in the A Level South Atlantic League and the Tampa Yankees in the Advanced Level A Florida State League. His overall minor league career average was .299 with 17 home runs and 116 RBIs. He then turned to coaching. He is the twin brother of former major leaguer Jeff Baisley.

JAYSON BAYTOP, JR. (2014)
Jayson finished his professional career in 2017 with the White Sands Pupfish of the southwestern Pecos League. He also played for that league’s Trinidad Tigers the same year. For the Winston-Salem State University Rams in 2016, he hit .353 with four home runs and 4 RBIs. For the Thunderbolts in 2014, he batted .266 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 37 games.

MIKE BILLEK (2003-2004)
The Chicago Cubs drafted Mike in the third round of the 2005 draft. He began his minor league pitching career with the Peoria Chiefs of the A Level Midwest League and the Boise Hawks of the Lower Level A Northwest League. In 2006, he split time with the Daytona Cubs of the Advanced Level A Florida State League as well as Peoria and Boise. He finished his career in Peoria. In his three year career, he went 9-11 with a 6.13 ERA.

TRAVIS BROWN (2001)
Travis was drafted in 2003 by the Baltimore Orioles in the 27th round. He began his professional career that year with Bluefield in the Appalachian League. He moved up to A, AA, and AAA teams from 2004-2008. He dropped down to AA ball then spent two years with the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League, his last season coming in 2010, when he hit .274 in 100 games.

ERICH CLONINGER (2001)
Erich was chosen by the Boston Red Sox in the 35th round of the 2003 draft. He began his pro career that season in the New York-Pennsylvania League for the Lowell Spinners. He started 2004 with Lowell but moved on to the Augusta GreenJackets in the South Atlantic League in 2004 where he finished his career. His best season was in Lowell in 2003 when he hit .263.

BRANDON COLUCCIO (2013)
Brandon signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization in 2014, appearing in 15 games for the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. He had one hit, a double, knocking in two runs. In 2016, he played one game for the Delmarva Shorebirds in the Class A South Atlantic League, going 0-1 with a walk.

RICH CONDEELIS, JR. (2014)
Rich was drafted in the 36th round of the 2015 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins. He spent one season with the Gulf Coast Twins in the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League. He went 1-3 with a 12.33 ERA in 38 innings pitched over 12 games. In 2014 for the Thunderbolts, he went 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in seven games. His best outing came in a loss against the Baltimore Dodgers when he pitched 1.2 innings, faced eight batters, gave up no runs on one hit, walked one, and struck out four. He pitched for the Baltimore Redbirds in the Ripken League in 2015.

PAUL CUSICK (2008)
Paul was taken in the 29th round of the 2011 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2011, he pitched rookie ball for the Gulf Coast Phillies of the Gulf Coast League, then was moved up to the Williamsport Crosscutters in the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. He went 3-2 for the Gulf Coast Phillies in 2011 with a 4.14 ERA.

DEVON DAVIS (2012)
Undrafted, Devon signed with the Chicago White Sox organization in 2014 and played Rookie League ball that year for the Arizona League White Sox and the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League. In 2015, he moved up to the A Level South Atlantic League with the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Winston-Salem Dash of the Advanced Level A Carolina League, and the AA Birmingham Barons of the Southern League. In 2016, he played his last season in the independent Frontier League with the Washington Wild Things where he went 1-1 with a 2.76 ERA. Overall, in the minor leagues, he went 5-6 with a 3.44 ERA.

MIKE EPPING (2003-04)
Mike was selected in the 13th round of the 2006 draft by the San Diego Padres. He started immediately in Lower-Level Advanced A with the Eugene Emeralds (Northwest League) in 2006, The next year he moved to level A (Lake Elsinore Storm, (California League), the finished the season with the AAA Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. He then played two seasons with the Traverse City Beach Bums in the independent Frontier League and one more season in the Frontier League with the Oakland County Cruisers. In his minor league career, he hit .237 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.

JUAN ESPINOSA (2013)
Juan pitched three seasons in the independent Pacific Association for the Sonoma Stompers. He wound up his career in 2018 with a 3-1 record and a 4.52 ERA. Over his three seasons in the league, he was 13-10 with a 3.83 ERA. He went 1-2 with the Thunderbolts in 2013 with a 3.71 ERA. He is currently the varsity pitching coach at Bishop Fenwick High School in Franklin, Ohio.

DAN GRYBASH (2001)
Dan was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 34th round of the 2003 draft. He pitched Rookie League ball with the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League in 2003 and made it to Advanced Level A in 2005 with the Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League. He played one season in the Puerto Rican winter League. He played in the independent American Association going 6-2 for the Fort Worth Cats in 2009 and wound up his career in 2011 with the Wichita Wildcats. Overall, he was 6-4 in the minors with a 4.83 ERA.

RYAN HODINKA (2004)
Ryan signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 2006. He started off in Lower-Level A ball with the State College Spikes of the New York-Pennsylvania League. Then, in 2007, he played for two teams in the Rookie Leagues—the Gulf Coast Cardinals in the Gulf Coast League and the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League. He finished 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA. He is currently a partner specializing in liability litigation with the Balch and Bingham law firm in Birmingham, Alabama.

JARED INCINELLI (2003)
Jared signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels in 2006 and was assigned to the Orem (UT) Qwiz in the Rookie Pioneer League. From 2007-2008, he pitched for Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the Advanced Level A California League. Overall, he finished with a 5-4 record and a 4.26 ERA. He currently is on staff at Incinelli Baseball, a private skills development firm in Florida.

JAKE LABER (2007)
Undrafted, Jake played nine seasons in independent league baseball. He began in 2008 in the Northern League with the Fargo-Moorhead (ND) Redhawks. He spent 2008-2009 with the River City Rascals in the Frontier League and played winter ball in Florida with the Space Coast Surge. He returned to Fargo, now in the American Association, for five seasons. He ended his career in 2014 with the Redhawks. His best seasons for Fargo were in 2010 (11-4); 2011 (10-7) and in 2013 (10-5).

ROBERT LUCIDO, JR. (2013-2014)
Robert was a 40th round draft choice of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015. He played one season for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays in 2015 hitting .259 with one RBI and one stolen base. In 2017, he was a member of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers in the independent Michigan-based United Shore League where he hit .222 with one home run and nine RBIs in 22 games. He currently lives in Miami where he is Chief Strategy Officer for Lucido Global.

MATT MARQUIS (2010)
Matt was drafted by the Red Sox in 2008 and in 2011. He played one game in the Rookie League and went up to the Lower Level A Lowell Spinners of the New York-Pennsylvania League. There, he hit .337 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 26 games. He moved on to the Greenville Drive of the A Level South Atlantic League, the Salem Red Sox of the Advanced A Level Salem Red Sox and in 2012, was back with the Lowell Spinners. He finished his pro career in 2014 with the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association, hitting .237 with one home runs and 25 RBIs in 62 games. In his minor league career, he hit .248 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs.

JAVIER MARTICORENA (2013)
Javier spent three seasons in Independent League ball playing for the Moses Lake Rattlesnakes of the Mount Ranier League: the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League, and the Pittsburg Diamonds of the Pacific Association. He finished with a .257 average with five home runs and 43 RBIs. For the Thunderbolts, he hit .172 with two home runs and 15 RBIs.

JUSTIN McCLANAHAN (2003-2005)
Justin was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft. He went to the Gulf Coast Blue Jays for Rookie Ball that year, hit .282 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 47 games. He was promoted in 2009 to A ball with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League, where he hit .261 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. His final pro season came in 2010 with the Advanced A Level Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida League. Again, he hit .261 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. In 2005, he was MVP of the Ripken League, hitting .360 for the Thunderbolts.

JEREMIAH MEINERS (2006-07)
Jeremiah was taken in the 40th round of the 2010 draft by the Houston Astros. He went 1-2 with a 6.95 ERA for the Gulf Coast Rookie League Astros in 2010. In 2011, he played for the Greenville Astros in the rookie Appalachian League and then was called up to the class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks of the California League. He finished his career with a full season for the Tri-City Valley Cats of the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. His overall numbers were 5-5 with a 3.51 ERA. His best season was at Tri-City when he went 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA in 41 innings.

ADAM MILLS (2004)
Adam was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of 2007 and started in Lower-Level A ball with the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Pennsylvania League. By 2008, he was in AA with the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League, and in 2009-2010 was in AAA with the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League. His best season was in 2009 when he went 10-5 with the Portland Sea Dogs. Overall, he was 26-27 with a 4.37 ERA. He led the Clark Griffith League (home of the Thunderbolts until 2005) in wins in 2004.

JEFF PALUMBO (2000-01)
Jeff was chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the 15th round of the 2004 draft. He was assigned to the Salem (Oregon)-Keizer Volcanoes of the Lower Level A Northwest League. He hit .289 in 65 games for Salem-Keizer with 10 doubles, one triple, and 65 RBIs. He later became an assistant coach with the Thunderbolts in 2001, Bowie State University, and is now Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for East Carolina University.

JARED PRICE (2016)
Jared, from the University of Maryland, was selected by the New York Mets in the 33rd round of the 2012 Major League Draft and the Miami Marlins in the 37th round of the 2017 Draft. He pitched for the Thunderbolts in 2016, going 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA. He also pitched in the Cape Cod League going 3-2 and played for the Ottawa Champions of the Canadian American Association in 2017, finishing 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

BENITO SANTIAGO (2017)
Benito was drafted in the 34th round by the St. Louis Cardinals (overall 1023 pick) in 2018 and played 20 games for the Appalachian League Johnson City Cardinals. He hit .182 with 12 hits, including three doubles and three home runs. He had 11 RBI. He was released by the Cardinals in 2019.

MIKE SHERIDAN (2006-2007)
Mike was chosen by the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. He began his pro career with the Lower Level A Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Pennsylvania League where he hit .321 in 31 games. After a season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in the A South Atlantic League, he spent two years in the Advanced Level A Florida State League with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. He made it to AA ball with the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League before finishing his career with the Laredo Lemurs of the independent American Association.

ALEX SUNDERLAND (2010)
Alex was taken in the 38th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Seattle Mariners. He pitched one season in Rookie Ball for Seattle in the Arizona League, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings. Then he spent two years in independent league baseball. In 2012, he played for the River City Rascals of the Frontier League, and in 2013, he pitched for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the American Association, the Evansville Otters, and Rockville Aviators of the Frontier League.

JAKE TAYLOR (2012-2014)
Jake wound up his professional career with the San Rafeal Pacifics in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, hitting .308 with 16 home runs and 68 RBIs. His career totals for four years of independent ball included a .322 average with 72 home runs and 260 RBIs. Jake hit 13 home runs for the Thunderbolts in 2012 which was the second highest total in Ripken League history. His 35 RBIs that season is an all-time Thunderbolts record. Jake is currently an assistant coach at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland.

DAN TOBIK (2010)
Dan was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2013. He began Rookie Ball with the Arizona League Angels that year and pitched one game with the Advanced Level A Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernandino in the California League. He was tagged with the loss in that game and went back to Rookie Ball. In 2014, he spent the whole season with the 66ers, going 4-8 with a 5.60 ERA in 54.2 innings. The next year, he played for the Ottawa Champions in the independent Canadian American Association and the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League. He was 8-10 in the minors with a 4.31 ERA, and 1-4 with a 6.59 ERA in the independent leagues. His father, Dave Tobik, pitched seven seasons in the Major Leagues with the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners.

FRANK VIOLA, III (2003)
The son of former major league pitcher Frank Viola, Frank III was chosen by the Chicago White Sox in the 29th round of the 2004 draft. He pitched for the Bristol White Sox in the Rookie Appalachian League where he had a 5-2 record with a 3.82 ERA in 13 games. He missed 2006 following Tommy John surgery.  He returned to Bristol in 2007 but was released by the White Sox in 2008.  In 2010, he went to the independent league St.  Paul Saints and finished with a 1-2 record and a 4.58 ERA in 21 games.  He signed a minor league agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays but was released again. He signed a final minor league contract with the White Sox in 2015 but finally retired soon after. He now hosts a YouTube fishing series named Fishing With Frankie.

KURT WERTZ, JR. (2012)
Kurt played three seasons of independent league ball with the Evansville Otters and the Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League. Overall, he hit .243 with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs. His last season in the Frontier League was 2018. He currently lives in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and works in electronic manufacturing. For the Thunderbolts in 2012, he hit .330 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.

JEFF WHITFIELD (2001)
Jeff played one season in the independent southwest Golden League as a catcher for the Yuma Scorpions in 2005. He hit .220 in 30 games with one double and one RBI. He later went into college coaching.

JOE WILSON (2002)
Joe was drafted in 2003 in the 13th round by the Philadelphia Phillies. He started his professional career in the Gulf Coast League in 2003 and then in the next two years, played for four teams in Class A including the Batavia Muckdogs, the Lakewood BlueClaws, and the Dayton Dragons. In 2008, he played briefly for the Ottawa Rapides in the independent Canadian American Association, appearing in four games, pitching 2.2 innings.

JARED YECKER (2006)
Jared was a 22nd round draft choice by the (then) Florida Marlins in 2008. He began pitching that year with the Jamestown Jammers in the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. He moved up to the A Level Florida League in 2009 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. His last season in pro ball was 2010 with the Sussex (N.J.) Skyhawks of the independent Canadian American Association. He appeared in seven games for the Skyhawks with an 0-1 record, yielding 11 runs in 9.2 innings. His best season was in 2008 for Jamestown when he went 2-1 with an 0.91 ERA.

MAJOR LEAGUES:
STAFF
MIKE CHERNOFF (2001)
Mike is the General Manager of the Cleveland Guardians (Indians), one of the youngest GMs in baseball. He specialized in analytics for the team and became Director of Baseball Operations, and Assistant General Manager in 2010. He was promoted to General Manager position in 2015. He played his college ball at Princeton and was on three Ivy League championship teams. He played the infield for the Thunderbolts.

ANDREW MELNICK (2003-04)
Andrew Melnick was the first management intern for the Thunderbolts. He graduated Springfield College with a BA In Sports Management in 2006. In August of that year, he joined the Washington Nationals as a Clubhouse Assistant, a position he still holds.

GREGORY MELNICK (2005-08)
Gregory served four years as Head Intern for the Thunderbolts. He major league career began part time in 2008 as a Clubhouse Attendant with the Washington Nationals and, in 2011, he worked his way up to Assistant to the Visiting Clubhouse Manager. In 2015, he became Full-time Assistant to the Visiting Clubhouse. He also spent ten months as an Account Executive at Executive Media Communications, a marketing firm in Rockville, Maryland.

BETHANY WHITE (2010)
At the University of Connecticut, Bethany snagged a management internship in 2010 as Assistant General Manager for the Thunderbolts. After her internship, she left for the New England Collegiate Baseball League and eventually found her way to the Cardinals in 2012 in sales. In January of 2022, she was named the Cardinals Director of Theme Ticket Sales.

MINOR LEAGUES/INDEPENDENT LEAGUES:
MANAGERS/HEAD COACHES
FRED RODRIGUEZ (2001)
Fred, the Thunderbolts manager in 2001, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 37th round of the 1966 MLB draft. He played four seasons for the Cubs in the minors, twice getting to AA with the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs in 1967 and the San Antonio Missions in the Texas League in 1968. His last season was 1969 with the A Level Quincy Cubs of the Midwest League. Over his minor league career, he hit .232 with 15 home runs and 111 RBIs.

BOBBY ST. PIERRE (2001-2006)
Bobby is now in his tenth year as a scout for the Houston Astros. He was a 17th round draft choice of the New York Yankees in 1995 and pitched four seasons in the Yankee system, going 24-16 with a 3.78 ERA. He spent four years as a pitching coach for the Burlington Royals in the Appalachian League and served as a pitching coach for the Iowa-based Burlington Bees in the Midwest League. Bobby led the Thunderbolts to their sole Ripken League championship in 2006, and in 2005, the team was co-champion with the Bethesda Big Train.

JOHN DUFFY (2007)
John signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 1996 and played that season for the Lowell Spinners in the Low Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. He then embarked on a nine-year career in the independent leagues with stops in the Northeast League, the Atlantic League, the Northern League and the Canadian-American Association where he was a pitching coach for a traveling team in 2005. He went 2-0 in 1999 with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the Northern League Central. He won six games for Fargo-Moorhead in 2002. Overall in the independent leagues, he compiled a 19-16 record with a 4.59 ERA.

ASSISTANT COACHES
MIKE BZOZOWSKI (2008, 2011-12)
Mike was a bench coach and pitching coach for the Thunderbolts. He pitched for the Albany Quails in the rookie Peach State League in 2010, going 0-1 with a 5.83 ERA, in 12.1 innings and striking out 10. He is now a Business Affairs Counsel with Harper Collins Christian Publishing in Nashville.

MITCH COOKSEY (2018)
Mitch was a pitching coach for nationally ranked Riverdale Baptist High School where his teams went 62-2. He is currently an Associate Scout for the Cleveland Guardians of the American League. He was formerly an Associate Scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Assistant Baseball Coach for UMBC. Besides his scouting duties, he is a Talent Acquisition Specialist for Morgan Stanley in San Diego, California.

CHARLES DEVEREUX (2000)
Charles, an assistant coach, pitched four years in the Baltimore Orioles organization with stops in Frederick (Keys) and Bowie (Baysox) in 1994-95. In 1995, he joined the independent Northern League’s Thunder Bay Whisky Jacks; the next year he played overseas in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League with the Mercuries Dragons and returned to the Whisky Jacks in 1996 before retiring as a player.

JOSH EACHUES (2011)
Josh played for two years in the South Coast League before getting into one game with the Philadelphia Phillies Rookie League affiliate Gulf Coast Phillies in 2008. He returned to independent league ball with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League in 2008-2009. His independent league career resulted in a .223 average with eight doubles, one triple and three home runs, driving in 43 RBIs. He also played a season in Perth, Australia. He currently works for the City of Newberry in South Carolina.

MAX ECKERT (2022)
Max, an assistant coach with the Thunderbolts this season, pursued his professional baseball career in 2010 in the independent Golden Baseball League with the Calgary Vipers. He hit one double and drove in six RBIs in 22 games before he left. Max was a 2008 Clark Griffith All Star and First Team All-League selection that year. At Stevenson University, he was 2009 MVP and broke the single season and career home-run record. He has dedicated his post-playing years to giving back and coaching the game that he loves.

WILL GARDNER (2000)
Will, an assistant coach, worked for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, and Baltimore Orioles. He was head coach at Bowie State University, going 51-70 from 1998-2001. He was Director of Athletics and associate head coach at Anne Arundel Community College from 2001-2003, and later was an assistant coach at Delaware State University in 2004-2006. He then became head coach of University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

MARK GIBBS (2003)
Mark joined the Orioles as a free agent in 2000, After Rookie League in Florida, he played for the Advanced A Level Frederick Keys in the Carolina League and the AA Bowie Baysox in the Eastern League. In 2002, he split time between the Delmarva Shorebirds in the A Level South Atlantic League and the Bowie Baysox. He left professional baseball in 2002.

JIMMY JACKSON (2009)
Jimmy played in the independent Frontier and Atlantic Leagues in 2004-2005. For the Mid-Missouri Mavericks in 2004, he went 1-2, in 20 games with a 4.83 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched. In 2005, he appeared in one game, pitching one inning for the Lancaster Barnstormers and did not figure in the decision. Currently, he is the Associate Head Coach and Pitching Coach for James Madison University.

MARCUS JOHNSON (2014-2019)
Marcus played two seasons of professional baseball with the Braves Academy in San Pedro De Macoris in the Dominican Republic. He was a bench coach and assistant coach with the Thunderbolts for six seasons. He is currently a pitching coach for Varsity Men’s Baseball at Fairfax County Schools, in Burke, Virginia.

GARY LOWE (2009-10)
After a tryout at Wheaton Regional Park, Gary played for the A Level Carolina League Hagerstown Suns in 1980-81. He hit .339 while playing first base. Knee trouble forced him to retire from professional baseball and he turned to high school coaching in Maryland.

JOE MICHALSKI (2008)
Joe signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization in 2005 and pitched for the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Lower Level A New York-Pennsylvania League. He played in 23 games, getting eight hits and six RBIs. He left professional baseball after that and became an assistant coach at UMBC. He then coached in high school in Tennessee.

DREW ZACHRY (2005-2006)
Drew played 23 games for the Albany Diamond Dogs in the independent Northern League in 2000, getting two hits and knocking in two runs. He next played and the Johnstown Johnnies in 2001, batting .300 in 36 games with three doubles and nine RBIs. In 2002, he hit .311 for the Johnnies with 19 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 55 RBIs.