Miners Ride Ace, Long Ball to Win on Opening Night
May 15, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners got seven innings from the reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater and two homers that provided all the offense they needed in a 3-1 road win over the Lake Erie Crushers at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio on Friday night.
After both Bywater (1-0) and Lake Erie right-hander Jason Wilson (0-1) put zeroes on the scoreboard through the first two frames, the Miners broke through in the third when Toby DeMello planted an opposite-field homer over the fence in right in his first at-bat as a Miner for a 1-0 visitors lead.
Bywater then settled into a groove, retiring seven straight Crushers before giving up a ground-rule double in the fourth to Anderson Hidalgo, one of just three hits against him all night. After Hidalgo moved to third on a ground ball, an error on another grounder with two outs plated him and tied the game at 1-1.
DeMello would get the offense started again in the sixth when he tripled to right-center to lead off the inning on the first pitch he saw from Wilson. The next pitch was hit over the fence in right-center by Aaron Gates for a go-ahead two-run homer that provided the final margin of victory for Southern Illinois.
Lake Erie was able to get the tying runs on base in the eighth around a short rain delay, but Will Rankin came in and got Hidalgo to fly out to end the eighth before pitching a perfect ninth, fanning Ty Nelson to notch his first save in a Miners uniform and extend his scorless streak to 25 1/3 consecutive innings dating back to last season.
DeMello finished 2-for-3 with a triple, homer, two runs scored and an RBI while Gates went 1-for-3 with his two-run blast. Bywater ended up tossing 88 pitches in seven innings of work, surrendering just three hits and one unearned run with one walk and eight strikeouts to match his season-high from 2014.
The Miners will go for the series win in game two on Saturday evening, with righty Adam Lopez making his Miners debut against Lake Erie's Brad Zambron.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2014 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.
• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...
Frontier League Stories from May 15, 2015
- Miners Ride Ace, Long Ball to Win on Opening Night - Southern Illinois Miners
- Freedom Beat Slammers Again - Florence Y'alls
- Aviators Win 1st Game of the 2015 Season - Rockford Aviators
- ThunderBolts Shut out Frontier Greys 4-0 - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Slammers Comeback Falls Short in Florence - Joliet Slammers
- Wild Things Fall in Home Opener 1-0 - Washington Wild Things
- CornBelters Solid in Season-Opening Win - Normal CornBelters
- Boomers Notch Second Straight Shutout - Schaumburg Boomers
- Beach Bums Opener Rained out - Traverse City Beach Bums
- Evansville Otters Game Postponed - Evansville Otters
- Webster Signed by Atlanta Braves - Schaumburg Boomers
- May 15 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
- Otters Game Preview & Game Notes - Evansville Otters
- CornBelters Announce 2015 Broadcast Plans - Normal CornBelters
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
