Miners Complete Sweep At Gateway In First Half Finale
July 14, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
MARION, ILL. (JULY 13, 2014) - The Southern Illinois Miners completed a three-game road sweep of the Gateway Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark in Sauget on Sunday with a 10-5 decision, their fourth win in a row to close out their first half heading into the All-Star break.
It was an historic sweep as well, as the series represented the Miners' first road sweep of any team since June 2012 and the first time the Grizzlies were swept at home since September of 2011.
Neither team managed a hit against the opposing starting pitcher until Southern Illinois broke through in a big way in the fourth, batting around and plating five runs. FRANK MARTINEZ, MARQUIS RILEY and RYAN CAVAN opened the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles, with Cavan's plating a run for a 1-0 lead. STEVE MARINO would deliver a sac fly with the bases loaded two batters later, and CHRIS BURKE was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases for TYLER BOOTH, who walked to force in a run and make it 3-0.
A sac fly by PHIL BUTLER followed, and an RBI single by JAY AUSTIN could have been a two-run hit, but Booth was thrown out at the plate to end the frame. Gateway would get two back on their only hit of the game off of MATT BYWATER (5-1), a two-run single in the fifth to make it 5-2.
But the Miners would get four more unanswered runs off of the Grizzlies' bullpen, including an RBI groundout by AARON GATES and a three-run home run by Martinez that just snuck over the right field fence, making the score 9-2. Gateway would answer with three in the bottom of the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded, but JAMES WOODS fanned Michael Johnson to end the threat. RACE PARMENTER, making his first appearance of 2014 for the Miners after Booth added another insurance run with a single in the top of the ninth, worked a scoreless final frame to complete the sweep.
Again, the Miners would earn the win with a team effort. Seven of the nine players in the lineup would get at least one RBI and four players had multi-hit games as Southern Illinois moved to seven games over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Following the All-Star break, the Miners will resume play on Friday nightagainst the Evansville Otters on the road. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2012 Frontier League Champions and have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception. They also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, please contact the Rent One Park box office at 618-998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.
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