FL Southern Illinois Miners

Burke's Career Night Helps Miners Pound Normal

Published on July 31, 2014 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release


Marion, Ill. (July 30, 2014) - The Southern Illinois Miners and Normal CornBelters bore witness on Wednesday night at The Corn Crib in Normal to an all-time great performance in Frontier League history, as Chris Burke went 5-for-5, smacking two homers, hitting for the cycle and driving home nine runs to tie a league record for a single game in a 20-11 Miners win, their fifth in a row and 14th in their last 17 games.

The Miners led the entire game, leaping out to a 3-0 lead in the first on an RBI double by Frank Martinez, RBI single by Aaron Gates and RBI triple by Burke in back-to-back-to-back at-bats. They then widened their lead with a five-run third inning that saw five players in a row reach on base hits. Burke, Steve Marino, Matt Howard and Marquis Riley all drove home one run apiece in the frame, with Marino and Howard smacking doubles.

Southern Illinois would continue to pile on all night long. Burke and Marino each picked up RBIs on a fourth-inning sac fly and single, respectively, to make it 10-3. The score was 10-4 in the sixth when Burke launched a solo home run to lead off the frame. Matt Jones would also pick up an RBI in the inning to make it 12-4.

In the seventh, Burke completed his cycle by driving a ground-rule double to right-center, scoring Ryan Cavan to make it 13-4 before a wild pitch brought Martinez home for a 14-4 advantage. Both teams would trade runs in the final frames, but the Miners' night became even more special in the eighth inning.

After Howard led off with a walk, Jones cranked a two-run homer to left, his first professional home run, for a 16-6 lead. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no one out. After two consecutive strikeouts, Burke came to bat once again, and hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in left for a grand slam, becoming the fourth player in Frontier League history to record nine RBIs in a game, and first since 2008. The Miners had a 20-6 lead, with Normal scoring five runs in the eighth and ninth innings for the final margin.

The Miners pounded out 25 hits, a new season-high, and also had each player in their starting lineup get at least one hit for the first time this season, with seven of the nine getting multiple hits in the contest and six of those compiling three or more hits. Each starter also scored at least one run. Martinez finished 4-for-6 with four runs scored and two doubles, while Jones was 3-for-6 with three RBIs, Howard was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored, Gates went 3-for-6 with three runs scored, Riley went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and Marino 2-for-6 with a double and two RBIs.

On the pitching side, rookie right-hander Steve Hagen (1-0) earned his first professional win for the Miners, who will go for the series win on the road on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Rick Teasley will get the ball for the Miners opposed by Normal's Mike Devine.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2012 Frontier League Champions and have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception. They also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, please 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 July 31, 2014


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