Miners Roar Back from Early Deficit to Top Gateway
August 30, 2017 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Miners Roar Back From Early Deficit To Top Gateway
Southern Illinois scores eight unanswered runs to even final home series
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners trailed 3-0 after the top of the first inning against the Gateway Grizzlies, but rebounded with two runs in their half of the first and then two more in the second inning to take the lead for good, eventually piling on for an 8-3 win at Rent One Park to knot their final home series of 2017 at one game apiece.
After Gateway used four hits to take a 3-0 lead off Matt Parish, the Miners struck back immediately in the bottom of the first. Romeo Cortina reached on an error by Brent Sakurai at shortstop and then came home on an RBI triple by Brett Wiley to make it 3-1. A sacrifice fly by Nolan Earley then brought the Miners within 3-2 against Gateway starter Will Anderson (2-14).
After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, the Miners then grabbed the lead for good by scoring a pair of runs in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Cortina and an RBI single by Wiley to give the team their first lead at 4-3. But they were not done there, as the Miners would extend their lead with two more runs in the fourth inning when Culver Plant and London Lindley led off with singles and were sacrificed to second and third base by Cortina. Wiley then came up and knocked them both in with a single to make it 6-3 Southern Illinois.
Parish (4-4) settled down in a big way after allowing seven hits and three runs in the first two innings, as the right-hander permitted only one more hit in his final four-plus innings of work, finishing with three walks and three strikeouts to get the win on the mound. Southern Illinois also scored insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings, both on RBIs by Ryan Lashley, to complete the scoring.
Wiley led the Miners' attack with a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple, a pair of walks, three runs scored and four RBIs as he reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances. Plant and Lindley each went 2-for-4 with a combined three runs scored, while Lashley finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs and Earley and Cortina drove in one run apiece in the winning effort.
Southern Illinois will go for a series win in their final home game of the 2017 season on Thursday night against Gateway at 7:05 p.m. Zach Cooper will start for the Miners on the mound, opposed by rookie right-hander Dalton Shalberg for the visiting Grizzlies.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2016 Frontier League West Division Champions, the 2014 and 2015 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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Frontier League Stories from August 30, 2017
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