The Silver Spring - Takoma Thunderbolts

MARCH MADNESS THUNDERBOLTS STYLE; 2025 TICKETS AND SEASON PASSES AVAILABLE ONLINE

TAKOMA PARK, March 8—With March Madness around the corner, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts are engaging in a March Madness of their own.

Thanks to T-Bolt Web and Computer Ace Ted Dacy, it’s now possible to order individual game and season tickets on the Thunderbolts website. Just navigate to the Tickets Menu on top of the page and voila! You can click and buy either (or both!)

Individual game tickets had to go up a couple of bucks so now they are $8 for adults and $3 for children under 18. Plus, as always, uniformed youth softball and baseball players and children under the age of five get in absolutely free.

The Season Passes come in a variety of options from full season to half season, family to business, and even a season pass for kids.

All the details are on the Ticket page. So get a jump on the ticket line and get ready for Thunderbolts basball 2025!

SHAMELESS PLUG: To keep up with all things Thunderbolts, subscribe to TBolts Fan on Substack. Lots of information about the team, season updates, etc. There’s a story there about three of our former players from Taiwan who are making a splash in baseball’s international competitions (further details below). Coming soon, a report on the former Thunderbolts who are active in major, minor, and independent league baseball and where they wind up on Opening Day.

Our Kevin Schweickhardt does a great job on managing the site and it’s definitely worth your while to stop by. Keep those views and recipients coming!

REMEMBER OUR PLAYERS FROM TAIWAN? THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC AND PREMIER12 DO

TAKOMA PARK, March 5—Adam Lee, who keeps track of our Taiwanese baseball players, emailed me with some great news. One of our former pitchers, Yung-Chen Lu (2018), was a member of the Taiwanese team that earned a berth in next year’s World Baseball Classic.

Former T-Bolt En-Sih Huang Receives Championship Medal at Premier12, November, 2024, Photo Courtesy of Adam Lee

And wait, there’s more! Two of our former Taiwanese pitchers, En-Sih Huang (2015) and Kuan-Wei Chen (2016) were on last year’s Taiwan team that won the Premier12 Championship. The Premier12 takes the 12 best international baseball teams and stages a tournament among them. The Premier12 is considered the third most important baseball tourney after the WBC and the Olympics.

Details on this are on a Substack story that soon hopes to be part of Kevin Schweikhardt’s new TBolt Fan Substack. But for now, it’s living on Neal Lavon’s stack as T-Bolt Banter. Here is the link:

https://neallavon.substack.com/cp/158393257

Hopefully, stories about Thunderbolts past and present will be going out on Kevin’s Substack, TBolt Fan. Until then, enjoy!

TBOLTS 2025: SCHEDULES, CAMPS, AND INTERNS:

SILVER SPRING, February 1—The 25th Anniversary season for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts begins Wednesday, June 4, against the Alexandria Aces at Frank Mann Field. Game time is 6:30 pm at Blair Baseball Stadium. The entire 2025 schedule is posted on our website (see below).

THUNDERBOLT BASEBALL CAMPS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS: Five weeks of camps June 16-July 18 (Ages 7-14) and two specialty camps. Register early to make sure you are not shut out. Early bird registration features discounted rates before April 1. On-line registration is available at Tbolts.org/Camps. Registration opens February 1.

THUNDERBOLT INTERNS AND BAT BOY/GIRL POSITIONS: Assistant Camp Director - work with the Thunderbolts Camp Director checking in and checking out campers, supervise lunches, coordinate on field schedules of counselors, fill in where needed in training sessions, and assemble all equipment each day. Hours: 8:30- 3:15 pm; dates of work: M-F (5 weeks) June 16-July 18; ages: 19-24 years old; Stipend $2400.

SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD/MUSIC DIRECTOR: Will post game and team information and highlights on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, team website) on a regular basis. Experience in creating social media content on the college level, or its equivalent, is preferred. Candidate must be able to use all major social media platforms. Age: 19-24; nominal stipend.

Music Director– responsible for coordinating game day music. Position requirements: work hours: 6-10:30 p.m.; Dates of work: Twenty (20) selected dates at Blair Baseball in June and July; Age: 17-24 years old; nominal stipend.

MANAGEMENT INTERNS: Three (3) vacancies for June 2-July 24 (20-22 game days) Duties: Interns will be involved in all aspects of team operations and will rotate through assignments such as marketing/publicity; food service and concessions; stadium maintenance; fan liaison services; game-day promotions; fan party management and general fan service. Age 17 -24.Work: 4:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. on home game days (20-22 dates). Nominal stipend.

FIELD OPERATIONS INTERN: Work includes lining, dragging infield, preparation of field boxes, watering infield, and setup and take down equipment for batting practice. Intern will work from 4:00 - 7:30 pm on home game days. Age requirements 16-24. Unpaid positions.

BAT BOY/BAT GIRL: We will have four (4) bat boy/bat girl positions this season. Bat boy/bat girls will work in teams of two each game from 6 pm to the end of game.

Positions are open for students age 10-13 years of age. The league season runs from June 2- July 31. Unpaid positions.

Application Process: Please send a short letter of interest, including your contact information, EITHER by email to tboltsbaseball@gmail.com or by regular mail to Intern Position, SS-T Thunderbolts, 7110 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Specify which internship or other position you are applying for during the summer. Deadline is April 1, 2025.

TBOLTS SCHEDULE FOR 2025 NOW ON SCHEDULE TAB

SILVER SPRING, December 4—The schedule for the 2025 Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL) is set and is posted on our Schedule tab.

This new season will see 40 games played, an increase of four over last year’s total of 36. The 2025 season opens on Tuesday, June 3, when the Southern Maryland Senators travel to South County Field to take on the Metro SoCo Braves in a 7 pm tilt. The remainder of the teams go into action the following day.

The Thunderbolts open their season on the road on Wednesday, June 4 against the Alexandria Aces at 6:30 pm at Frank Mann Field. OnThursday, June 5, they will play against the Gaithersburg Giants at 7:00 pm at Criswell Automotive Field.

Even though there is no baseball on July 4, the Thunderbolts are in action, marching in the Takoma Park July 4 Parade.

The Thunderbolts home opener at Blair Baseball Stadium is set for Friday, June 6, when they host the 2024 CRCBL League Champion Bethesda Big Train in a 7 pm contest.

The Thunderbolts will play six games—three home and three away—against six of the eight teams in the CRCBL: the Bethesda Big Train, the Alexandria Aces, the DC Grays, the Gaithersburg Giants, the Olney Cropdusters, and the Metro SoCo Braves.

They will face the Southern Maryland Senators only four times in 2025—two away and two at home.

The Bolts and Big Train will once again play in a 10:00 am game at Shirley Povich Field. This on is scheduled for Sunday, June 15.

All home games at Blair Baseball Stadium start at 7:00 PM except for Sunday games which start at 6:00 pm. There are five Sunday home games this year—June 22, June 29, July 6, July 13, and July 20.

The League has designated makeup days for rainouts throughout the season and the League will take off doe the July 4 holiday. The CRCBL All-Star Game is slated for Wednesday, July 9, 7:00 pm, at Shirley Povich Field.

The post-season playoffs begin with the two Play-In Games on Wednesday, July 23, among the 3-6 ranked teams. The best of three League Semi-Final Series starts the next day and runs through July 26. The best of three League Final Series opens on July 27 and runs through July 29.

Two rainout days are available on July 30-July 31. The July 31 date is the end of the CRCBL season.

MEDIA INTERNSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE FOR T-BOLTS IN 2025 SEASON; HEAD TO MEDIA TAB/INTERNSHIPS

SILVER SPRING, December 4—Even though the temperature and windchill may not call to mind the opening of baseball season, the winter is time when prospective media interns should apply for positions with the team.

We are looking for play by play broadcasters, writers, and social media experts to help us bring the 2025 season to fans.

So head to the Media tab on the Top Menu, navigate to Interns, and read the announcements. We would like to hear from prospective applicants and now is the best time.

Good luck!