Down one run in the last inning at Ewald Park in Southbury, the Thunder only needed to score a couple of runs to take the lead.

They scored seven and posted their fifth straight victory, a 13-7 decision over Southbury, that enabled the Thunder to close out the regular season at 7-6 with the playoffs opening Saturday against the Red Tide at 1:30 pm at Glander Field.

Connor Bateson drilled a key, last-inning double – his second of the game – to send Michael Burton, who had walked, to third base. Burton then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, 7-7. Michael Koch drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Tim McGrath with the leading run and Kyle Wilcox and Ben Stoller followed with RBI singles to put the game on ice.

Wilcox finished the game with three runs scored while Stoller scored two runs and had two RBIs. Wilcox also made a diving catch in center field and pitched spectacularly in relief, striking out six of seven batters and picking up the win.

Kaleb Rowe struck out all three batters he faced in the third inning, and Koch and Sean Dardine cracked doubles for the victors.

Dardine led the Thunder with a robust .545 batting average and a .644 on-base percentage while going 17-of-33 with seven doubles. Wilcox completed a torrid, 12-hit two-week stretch that boosted his average 200 points to an even .500.

Other big guns for the Thunder were Koch (.400 BA, .525 OBP) and Stoller (.364 BA, .488 OBP), who led the team with 17 RBI while scoring 18 runs. Wilcox scored 21 runs and drove in 15 while Dardine drove in 13 and Jacob Moore drove in 10. Koch and Dardine scored 17 runs apiece.

On the hill, it was all about the flamethrowers. Wilcox allowed just 10 hits while walking 18 and striking out 55 in only 22 innings of work while Koch allowed 15 hits while striking out 36 in 17 innings of work.

Then there was Kaleb Rowe, who struck out 30 hitters in 16 innings and finished with a 4.59 earned run average, second-best on the team. Stoller, who pitched fewer innings than the big three in the starting rotation, had a team-best 3.86 earned run average while yielding just two walks and striking out eight in seven innings of work.

In other previous action, the Thunder pounded Scarangela’s Stars, 11-1, last Friday night at Treadwell Park while batting around in the first and second innings and taking an 11-0 lead. Moore singled twice and drove in four runs while Dardine, Koch, Wilcox, Stoller, Tim McGrath and Hunter Low each drove in a run. Dardine and Wilcox also rapped doubles.

On the mound, Wilcox struck out six of the seven batters he faced and Kaleb Rowe struck out three others in the abbreviated, four-inning game.

Chris Robinson of the Stars drilled an RBI single to score John Lebinski and foil the Thunder’s no-hit bid. Lebinski pitched two shutout innings, striking out five batters.

The Thunder pounded out 13 hits on Sunday at Glander Field and handed Davis’ Destroyers a 17-1 defeat. The Thunder loaded the bases in the first inning, when Dardine drilled a leadoff double, Koch walked and Wilcox singled. Stoller rapped a two-run single while Moore and Rowe followed with RBI groundballs.

Dardine doubled again in the second inning and came home on a long sacrifice fly to centerfield by Koch. Wilcox then ripped a long triple to right field but was stranded at third.

For the Destroyers, Mike Davis led off the bottom of the inning by rapping a single and moving up on a wild pitch. Patrick Sullivan slashed an RBI single to score Davis, narrowing the Thunder lead to 5-1.

But the Thunder struck for six runs in the third inning and six more in the fourth to wrap up the win. Rowe doubled to left center to lead off the third and scored on a single by Erik Laaksonen. Dardine smashed an RBI single, his third hit of the game, to score Laaksonen. Wilcox drilled a two-run single, scoring McGrath and Low. Stoller whacked a double, bringing in Wilcox.

The Thunder’s six-run fourth inning was sparked by Rowe, who doubled and singled, giving him three hits for the game. Wilcox drove in two more runs with a single, his fourth hit of the game, and Moore hit an RBI grounder.

Rowe struck out two batters and pitched a scoreless inning, and Stoller set down three batters in order in a shutout fourth inning. Koch struck out five in two innings of work. Low made a juggling catch at third base for the final out.

In a much closer 14-10 win over the Hawks at Glander Field, Stoller broke open an extra-inning game by smashing a game-winning triple over the center fielder’s head. Dardine slammed a double to score Stoller to help ice the victory.

Stoller finished the game with five RBI and pitched three shutout innings to lead the Thunder to an 8-0 lead after three innings. Wilcox opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single that scored Rowe. In the next frame, McGrath drove in Stoller with a base hit and Michael Burton slapped another RBI single to bring home McGrath. Burton drilled a two-run single in the third inning, scoring Stoller and Dardine. Dardine knocked in Wilcox with a single in the fourth inning before the Hawks came roaring back with seven runs in the bottom of the inning.

Vikram Makayee, Greg Horne, Brendan Peterson, Ryan Daignault, Dan Gustafson and Alex Roche reached on errors, a walk and a hit by pitch. Jon Hull rapped an RBI single to left field to score Peterson.

After reliever Alex Roche blanked the Thunder in the fifth, the Hawks added two more runs in the bottom half to grab a 9-8 lead. Makayee blasted a double, followed by consecutive walks to Horne, Daignault and Peterson, and a Thunder fielding error. With the bases loaded, shortstop Koch bailed out the Thunder by grabbing a groundball, alertly tagging a runner and stepping on second for an unassisted double play.

The Thunder refused to die in the last inning, when Wilcox smashed a triple and tied the game on an RBI single by Stoller. After Stoller moved to third on an error, Dardine lofted an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to score Stoller and give the Thunder a short-lived 10-9 lead.

But the Hawks wouldn’t fold. Stephen Walsh walked and scored the tying run on a clutch double by Ryan Moyer. It looked like curtains for the Thunder with no outs and Hawks runners at first and second.

But second baseman Stoller scooped up a grounder and flipped to Koch, who made a nifty turn for another double play. Koch threw out the next batter, stranding a runner at third and sending the game into extra innings. After the Thunder scored four in the top of the seventh, reliever Dardine nailed down the save with outfield help from Burton, who made a shoestring catch, and Jacob Moore, who made a backhand stab that ended the game.

The Hawks’ Roche struck out five batters over three innings and didn’t walk a single batter. The Thunder’s Stoller struck out three, walked one and yielded just one hit in three innings.

In a 10-6 win over the Southbury Hurricanes, the Thunder battled back from 1-0 and 5-4 deficits, scoring five fifth-inning runs to capture the victory at Ewald Park in Southbury.

Down 1-0 in the second inning, Wilcox walked and moved to second on a beautiful sacrifice bunt by Koch. Wilcox took third and scored on wild pitches. In the third inning, Dardine singled and Stoller reached on a fielder’s choice before Wilcox crushed a three-run homer over the left field fence.

It was the first home run by a Thunder player this fall and appeared to be a lightning rod that awakened an entire team.

The Thunder came into the game hitting just .216 as a team, but scored 41 runs in three weekend games, boosting the team batting average to .267.

Southbury scored four third-inning runs to take a 5-4 lead, but the Thunder wouldn’t relent on offense. Dardine was hit by a pitch, Stoller walked and Wilcox tied the game with an RBI single. Stoller raced home on a wild pitch to give the Thunder a 6-5 lead, and Wilcox and Koch scored on errors. Rowe, who drove in Wilcox with a hard groundball that was mishandled, also ran home on a wild pitch to boost the lead to 9-5.

The Thunder scored again in the sixth when Dardine singled home Burton. Koch was unhittable in relief, retiring six straight batters in the final two innings to get the save. Three straight batters struck out looking.

Wilcox whiffed five batters in two innings of work, and Rowe pitched well in middle relief. Low made a great catch in left field to squelch Southbury’s fourth-inning rally.

In other action –

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New Fairfield 7, Tuscans 6 – Bobby Archiere doubled and Matt Mitchell slapped a bases-clearing single, but the Tuscans could not rally past New Fairfield. John Carlson also singled as Sam Czel and Matt Wood led the pitching effort.

Huskies 9, Navy 1 – Declan Sullivan, Nick Cirone, Liam Pallila and Dillon Palumbo hit the ball hard for the Huskies, who received strong pitching performances from Jared Brady and Devon Pallila. For Navy, Nathan Cooper and Chris Hartley supplied the offense while Connor Miller carried the pitching load.

Huskies 18, Black Panthers 18 – In the ultimate slugfest, Jason Ferrari of the Huskies pounded a three-run homer, Deegan Beauchemin singled twice and tripled, Connor Lemay who had two hits and Andrew Ross who reached base three times.

Eagles 10, Team (#41) 7 – Nick Cagganello went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two strong innings of pitching as the Eagles grabbed the win. Anthony Sodoski led a very tight defense with plays at second base and left field. Chris Calo and Joe Calbo hit the ball hard and Patrick Berger played well behind the plate.

Tuscans 11, Red Tide 9 – For the Red Tide, both Colin (The Closer) Morrissey and Chris (The Cannon) Brown played well on defense, including fanning four and three batters respectively during their pitching duties. Adam (I-Rod) Israel also played great defense behind the plate and in the field, while also contributing a walk, three stolen bases and a run scored on the offensive end. Morrissey and Brown also paced the offense, with Morrissey doubling and Brown singling with two stolen bases.

Brookfield/New Fairfield over Red Tide – Harry (D-Train) Depuy singled, walked, stole three bases and scored a run to lead the Red Tide in a loss to Brookfield/New Fairfield. D-Train also pitched well against the hard hitting opponent, recording the only scoreless inning while striking out two. Julia (Roadrunner) Monaco and Tim (The Vacuum) Pritchett continue to improve each week on both sides of the plate, with good glove work and getting on base. During the fourth, Monaco snagged a hard hit to second and gunned down the speedy runner while on the offensive end she was hit by a pitch, had a walk, stole three bases and scored a run. Pritchett played solid D in the infield at first and second and added a hit with a stolen base.

Brookfield 8, Blue Devils 3 – Jim Parker tripled and double while Michael Parker, Brendan Grant and Alex Klang had key hits to lead the Blue Devils in a loss to Brookfield. Nate Dowd played well at first while Conner Ryan and Stephen Pansa were strong behind the plate and Nicholas Chaloux made a key play at third.

Brookfield 17, Blue Devils 7 – Stephen Pansa had a sacrifice RBI and Nate Dowd stole home to get the Blue Devils started on offense, but Brookfield was too strong Nicholas Chaloux, Bobby Lydon and Kevin Finnegan scored on Michael Parker’s single while Jim Parker blasted a late game triple and was sent home by Alex Klang’s RBI single to round out the scoring. Michael Parker, Alex Klang and Nate Dowd combined for eight strikeouts while on the mound.

Blazers 10, Lightning 8 – Jordan Salvesen’s last inning pitching for the Blazers held off the late inning rally of the Lightning. Austin Iesu, Austin Huffman, Liam McInerney and Jacob Harper all had hits to help in the Blazers’ victory. Jack Corbett pitched a fantastic three-up, three-down inning.

Blazers 8, Red Tide 8 – Connor Roche belted a three-run homer as the Blazers tied the Red Tide. by Austin Iesu and Glen Damota ran well on the bases while Matt Hess and Nicholas Nelson had good all-around games. Zach Aumueller pitched a scoreless to hold off the Red Tide.