Miners Can't Hold Otters off Board Late in Loss
May 29, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners broke up a scoreless ballgame with two-out RBI hits in the sixth by Steve Marino and Brian Portelli, and led 2-0 heading into the eighth, but could not hold that lead as the Evansville Otters scored three in the eighth and one more in the ninth to win 4-3, taking the series at Rent One Park two games to one.
The early innings were a pitcher's duel between Dan Ludwig and Payton Baskette, with both pitchers working out of jams with runners on base consistently and no score on the board through five as they matched each other pitch-for-pitch. In the bottom of the sixth, Alex De Leon worked a walk with one out. After a flyout for the second out and a wild pitch moved him to second base, Marino came through with an RBI double to left field to give the Miners a 1-0 lead. Portelli then followed with a triple to make it 2-0.
Ludwig got his second double-play grounder of the game in the seventh inning to make it to the eighth, but walked the leadoff man and allowed a base hit to Kaeo Aliviado before departing. Joe Iorio then struck out Chris Breen but allowed an RBI single to Nik Balog and a game-tying double to Julio Rodriguez. A grounder hit to first by the next batter, Kurt Wertz, Jr., popped out of De Leon's glove, bringing Breen home from third and making the score 3-2 Otters.
The Miners would draw even in the bottom of the inning when Nolan Earley led off with a walk and De Leon launched an RBI double to deep left-center field. Heading to the ninth now tied at three, Isaac Gil (1-1) came on and after a strikeout allowed a walk and two straight hits, with Breen's RBI single plating Aliviado with the eventual winning run.
Ludwig threw his second quality start in a row and the Miners' third quality start of the weekend with seven-plus innings of two-run ball, walking two and striking out two, while De Leon reached base four times in the game with a pair of doubles, but it was not enough as the Otters dropped Southern Illinois to 8-6 on the season.
The Miners host the Chicago Bandits in a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition softball game on Monday night before heading on the road to face the first-place Windy City ThunderBolts on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Rick Teasley will start the series opener against ThunderBolts lefty Chris Chigas.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the back-to-back 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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