FL Southern Illinois Miners

Big Crowd Watches Miners Knock off ThunderBolts

Published on July 4, 2011 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release


MARION, Ill. - The Miners beat the Windy City ThunderBolts, 7-2, on Sunday night in front of an announced attendance of 6,330 fans, the sixth largest in the history of Rent One Park. The first pitch of the game was delayed 1 hour, 24 minutes due to rain. After suffering back-to-back losses, Malkowski returned to form with a solid outing. He tossed four scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the fifth inning. The big righty struck out two and walked just one as he ran his record to 5-2.

For the second night in a row, the Miners rallied in the first inning, and Windy City's starter left early. After 24 pitches, Matt Costello left the game with a leg injury and his team trailing 1-0. He surrendered two walks and two hits, including Sean Coughlin's RBI single. Costello's record fell to 2-3 with the loss.

The Miners gave Malkowski two more insurance runs in the second inning on Josh Womack's two-run single to extend the lead t0 3-0. After Windy City plated two against Malkowski in the top of the fifth, the Miners responded for three more in the bottom of the inning to make it a 6-3 game. The inning was highlighted by Will Block's sixth home run of the season and Eric Suttle's two-run double. Suttle led the offense with his three-hit night and three RBIs.

The Southern Illinois bullpen was nearly flawless once again, continuing the trend from Saturday's game. Clayton Dill made his first regular season appearance in a Miners uniform after being activated off the injured list earlier in the day. The southpaw struck out three while walking none in two scoreless innings. Ben Shivers extended his scoreless streak to 12 innings after retiring the side in order in the eighth. Erik Draxton worked a scoreless ninth inning.

The Miners offense recorded double digit hits for the second game in a row. All but three Miners had a hit in the game. Sean Coughlin extended his hit-streak to seven games and recorded his fifth two-hit performance in his last seven games. Tyler Bullock also had a pair of hits and scored a run.

Windy City manager Mike Kashirsky was ejected in the bottom of the fifth inning after arguing from the bench over an appeal that a Miners base runner had missed third base.

With the win, the Miners remained a game and a half back of first place River City, who also won on Saturday night.

Monday will conclude the Miners six-game homestand with spot starter Thomas Campbell (1-1, 2.50) on the mound against Windy City southpaw Todd Privett (2-2, 2.69). It will be a 7:05 p.m. first pitch from Rent One Park on the Fourth of July with the Miners seeking the series sweep. Immediately following the game will be a postgame fireworks extravaganza.

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