The WC Thunderbolts began life, several years ago, as the Cook County Cheetahs.  For a long time, visiting them and going to a game to see them was a painful experience.  The uniforms were great, the stadium was fun, but the playing was not always up to par.  For 2007, this seems to have changed completely.  Not only has the team been winning, but they’ve been winning in a convincing manner.

Even before the official season started the team was doing well.   They dominated an exhibition match-up against the Northern League’s Gary Southshore Railcats.  They then tied during the next game.  Then they lost a game to the Jackhammers only to win an exhibition match up against Rockford before opening the season.

The first game was a sign of things to come, apparently.  They started the season against the Riverhawks of Rockford.  It was a high-scoring game for both teams, but the Thunderbolts ended up winning 14 – 11.

By May 27th, the Thunderbolts had notched up nine straight wins.  They had beaten the Kalamazoo Kings.  They then went on to win three straight against the Kings.  They did not break that streak until May 30 for their final game against the Kings for that series and they lost 6 – 0.

While in the past this could have been a disaster, sending the team into a spiral of losing, this was a different team from past seasons.  This time the ‘Bolts came back and rallied during the next game to beat the Traverse City Beach Bums 6 – 4.  The ‘Bolts went on another streak and swept the Beach Bums during that series.

The ‘Bolts went to the Riverhawks’ stadium to play a double-header to make up for a rained-out game at the beginning of the season.  They would end up splitting the double-header.  The ‘Bolts would end up with a seasonal record of 10 – 3 while the Riverhawks would end up with a record of 4 – 8.

The ‘Bolts faced off against Rockford a few more times after that double header and split the series.  On June 11 the ‘Bolts went back on the road and lost the series opener against the Kalamazoo Kings.  Once again, long-time fans, such as myself, might have been feeling a sense of trepidation here.  The Kings have been a great team for many seasons and it is never a good move to let up on them even once.

However, the very next game the ‘Bolts came back from a 1 – 0 deficit to knock out 15 hits and beat the Kings 9 – 4.  The next team to fall in to the crosshairs of the Thunderbolts was the Freedom.  The ‘Bolts would sweep the Freedom in the Freedom’s own stadium.

The ‘Bolts started a series with the Chillicothe Paints on June 16th and lost the opener.  Once again, the regrouped and came back the next game to win.  They then won the next one against the Paints.  The ‘Bolts were now very firmly in 1st place and any doubts that they were a powerhouse team to contend with were rapidly disappearing.

By June 27th the Thunderbolts had managed to notch up their ninth-straight win, this one over the Traverse City Beach Bums.  They would increase that streak to ten the very next night, holding off a Beach Bums rally for another victory. 

Their streak would extend to eleven games against the Rockford Riverhawks.  With that win, they tied a franchise record for straight game wins.  This time they came home and beat the Riverhawks 9 – 0. 

The Riverhawks managed to stop the streak the very next game.  They beat the ‘Bolts 4 – 1 to start of July.  It was a short celebration for the struggling Riverhawks, however, as the Thunderbolts came back the very next game and beat them.  9 – 4.  Once again the Thunderbolts were not only winning, but winning handily with strong offense.

They won all their games through July 4.  On July 5 they lost again against the River City Rascals despite making a huge comeback attempt.  It was yet another high-scoring game and they lost 11 – 9.

What followed next was the first real losing streak for the ‘Bolts as they came toward the end of the first half of their season.  In typical Chicago sports team fashion, the loss came against the most-unlikely team and a team that should have been all-too easy for a dominant team like the Thunderbolts.  Next up was the Gateway Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies swept the ‘Bolts in their series from July 7 through July 9.  The two teams continued to play, however, on July 13th and 14th.  This time the ‘Bolts came back from the losses and defeated the Grizzlies.

The Thunderbolts have shown an ability, so far, to score a lot of runs.  Their offense has been, at times, surprisingly and amazingly overwhelming.  They also have shown to have dominant pitching and defense at times, shutting out teams consistently throughout the season. 

So far, through July 15, the Thunderbolts have a record of 37 – 12.  They are at .755.  Behind them is the Kalamzoo Kings but they are a solid 13 games behind, tied with the Rockford Riverhawks.  They have the best record in the Frontier League.

So, it certainly looks like the place to catch championship-level baseball in the Chicago area is Hawk-Ford field in Crestwood.  Check it out!

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