Gates' Double Gives Miners Wild Walk-Off Win
July 18, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. (July 18, 2015) - The Southern Illinois Miners went back and forth on Saturday afternoon under unforgivingly hot temperatures for over four hours, and it was the Miners coming out on top in a game that had several twists and turns by a final score of 10-9 on a walk-off RBI double by Aaron Gates in the tenth inning to beat the Windy City ThunderBolts and give the Miners a home series win.
The Miners leapt out on top with two runs in the first on back-to-back doubles by Michael Earley and Niko Vasquez and a subsequent single by Frank Martinez for a 2-0 lead. Windy City would tie the score on a two-run homer in the second off Adam Lopez and then take the lead on an RBI double in the third inning by Austin Gallagher for a 3-2 visitors advantage, the first lead Windy City had obtained over the Miners in four games.
The Miners then exploded to knock Windy City starter Travis Tingle out of the game, scoring six runs in the bottom half of the third on additional RBI hits by Vasquez and Martinez as well as two two-run singles by Steve Marino and Eric Strano. The Miners sent 10 men to the plate in the inning and took an 8-3 lead after three. Windy City would come back against the Miners bullpen, as after a solo homer by Ryan Dietrich made it 8-4, the ThunderBolts plated three runs in the sixth. With the tying run at third base, however, Brandon Cowan struck out Gallagher looking on a 3-2 pitch to preserve the lead.
The Miners added what proved to be a huge insurance run that same inning. Adrian English led off with his first career triple and scored on an RBI single by Gates to make the score 9-7. It remained 9-7 until the top of the ninth, when Ransom LaLonde's bloop single into left capped a two-run rally by Windy City off of Pete Perez, making the score 9-9. English had to leave the game on the same play, and the Miners brought Vasquez (their starting DH) into the field for the rest of the contest.
Both teams had big chances to win the game in their next turns at-bat, with Earley stranded at third in the ninth by the Miners and Larry Balkwill also stranded at third by Windy City in the top of the 10th. In the bottom half, Brian Portelli led off with a single and Perez (batting because of the defensive substitution in the ninth) sacrificed him to second. Gates then drove a pitch from Joel Lima (2-2) to right-center and won the game for Southern Illinois.
Southern Illinois compiled 18 hits in the game, tying their season-high as they improved to 2-1 this season in extra innings. Every single Miners starting position player finished with at least one hit in the game, with three hits from Vasquez and Martinez leading a pack of seven Miners with more than one hit in the contest. Gates, Martinez, Vasquez, Marino and Strano each had two RBIs in the contest in the team effort. Billed as a pitcher's duel between two all-star right-handers, neither starter was sharp, as Tingle allowed eight runs over just three innings of work and Lopez pitched through five innings while allowing four earned runs on four hits.
With the victory, the Miners clinched their eighth straight series win at home over Windy City and also their ninth straight win over the ThunderBolts overall. Southern Illinois will go for a three-game sweep on Sunday evening at 5:05 p.m., starting reigning Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater against Windy City left-hander Jake Fisher.
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.
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