Miners Top Slammers in Extras to Split Doubleheader
July 23, 2017 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners came back from a late deficit, then rallied in extras to beat the Joliet Slammers 5-4 in eight innings on Ryan Lashley's go-ahead double with two outs, splitting a doubleheader with the Slammers who won the first game, suspended due to rain in the third inning on Friday, by a final score of 7-6 at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
Joliet scored on an Edwin Gomez groundout in the bottom of the first inning of game two to take a 1-0 lead, and the Miners could not break through against Slammers starter Andrew Zellner until the fourth. Craig Massey and Nolan Earley led off the frame with singles and moved up one base each on a groundout. Massey then scored on an RBI groundout by Lashley to knot the score at 1-1. Joliet would then get a two-out RBI single by Ridge Hoopii-Haslam to get the run back in the bottom of the fourth, making the score 2-1 Slammers.
In the sixth inning, Romeo Cortina led off with a walk and moved to second base on Massey's infield single, then to third on a fielder's choice before Craig Massoni's sacrifice fly scored him and tied the game at 2-2. In the top of the seventh, the Miners grabbed their first lead of the game when Ben Moore homered to right field for a 3-2 lead. An RBI single by Brett Wiley later in the frame put the Miners up 4-2, but Joliet would again rally to tie the score at 4-4 against John Werner (3-0) in the bottom of the seventh on three walks, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.
The game went to extra innings, and after Massoni singled with two outs in the eighth off Danny Concepcion (1-4) and Lashley doubled down the right field line to score him all the way from first base to put the Miners in front again 5-4. Kyle Tinius then worked a scoreless bottom half, getting Hoopii-Haslam to fly out to center field to end the game with the tying run at second base for his first career save.
In the first game, resumed from the top of the third inning due to heavy rain on Friday night, the Slammers scored three runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Massoni would club his first Miners home run, a two-run shot to center field, in the fourth to tie the game, but Joliet would score the go-ahead run in the bottom half on an RBI single by Hoopii-Haslam at 5-4. After back-to-back solo homers by Travis Bolin and Rock Shoulders extended the lead to 7-4 in the sixth inning for the Slammers, the Miners scored a pair of unearned runs in the seventh on a pair of Joliet errors and a sacrifice fly by Cortina to get back within a run at 7-6. The Miners would the get the tying run on base in the ninth inning, but could not equalize in falling before bouncing back in the second game.
The Miners will go for a series win in a rubber match against the Slammers at 1:05 p.m. Matt Parish will make his second start for the Miners against Joliet left-hander Tyler House.
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Frontier League Stories from July 23, 2017
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- Miners Top Slammers in Extras to Split Doubleheader - Southern Illinois Miners
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