CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park baseball's all-time strikeouts leader, Ethan Sund (C '22) signed a professional contract with the Windy City ThunderBolts this past weekend. Sund finished his North Park career with the all-time record of 256 strikeouts before rounding out his collegiate career at Division I Northwestern University in 2023.
Sund was a two-time First Team All-CCIW pick (2019, 2022) and was a Second Team honoree in 2021. In his final season at North Park, Sund struck out 104 batters in 78.0 innings pitched, holding opposing batters to a .213 batting average. He threw a one-hit complete-game shutout with 16 K's against ninth-ranked UT-Dallas that same season.
His career ERA of 3.07 in 220 IP is 8th all-time and his 18 career wins are good for 6th in North Park history.
"Having a front seat to watch Ethan for five years and seeing him transform himself into what he is now has been one of the pleasures of my coaching career," said Luke Johnson, North Park's head baseball coach. "He put in a ton of time with Coach [Jake] Upwood and was always willing to listen, but he also found another gear while working on his own. We are all very happy for him."
The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the Frontier League, which is a partner league of Major League Baseball. All 30 Major League Baseball teams have signed players out of the Frontier League. As of January 2023, the Cubs, Marlins, A's, Twins, Rays, Pirates, Blue Jays, Rangers, Padres and White Sox currently have former ThunderBolts' players or coaches in their organizations. There are a total of 50 players who have reached the Major Leagues after playing in the Frontier League.
On October 27, 2023, former White Sox Closer and 2005 World Series Champion, Bobby Jenks, was named Field Manager. On January 30, 2024, 35-year big league coach Larry Rothschild was hired as the ThunderBolts' Pitching Consultant.
The ThunderBolts open their season on May 9 at home against the Evansville Otters.
