Miners Drop Close Contest To Boomers

From the Southern Illinois Miners

The Southern Illinois Miners fell in a close ballgame 3-2 to the Schaumburg Boomers at Rent One Park on Tuesday night as the first-place Boomers claimed the series opener by warding off a pair of late Miners’ threats.

Schaumburg grabbed a 1-0 lead with three straight two-out singles in the top of the first inning against Chris Washington, with Andrew Broadbeck’s hit driving in Zack Weigel with the game’s first run. The Miners would rally to not only tie the game in the third inning, but take the lead as well- Ben Moore, Anthony Critelli and London Lindley all singled to load the bases with no one out leading off the frame. After a double-play ground ball scored the tying run from third base, Romeo Cortina lined a triple to left-center field off Boomers starter Conrad Wozniak (2-1) to put Southern Illinois in front 2-1.

Washington (1-3) settled down after the first inning to retire eight Boomers in a row spanning three scoreless frames in the second, third and fourth before the Boomers tied the game in the fifth inning. James Keller led off with a double and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Ruchim to tie the game again at 2-2. In the next inning, Weigel led off with a solo home run to right field to put Schaumburg ahead 3-2.

The Miners would threaten the tied score three times from there, getting the tying run into scoring position in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings, but could not bring that run home as both bullpens made the score stand as the final margin. They also got a potential lead run on base in the eighth and ninth, but the Schaumburg relief corps kept them off the scoreboard both times as the Miners received three scoreless frames on the hill from Kyle Tinius and Kyle Grana to keep them within striking distance.

Lindley led the Miners’ attack by going 3-for-4, and Washington pitched a quality start, taking the loss despite six innings of work with no walks and six strikeouts as Southern Illinois dropped the series opener. The Miners will look to bounce back on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m., with Corey Sessions getting the start for the home team and Michael Wood pitching for the Boomers.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2016 Frontier League West Division Champions, the 2014 and 2015 Frontier League East Division Champions and the 2012 Frontier League Champions. They have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception, and also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, contact the Rent One Park box office at (618) 998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.