CornBelters Ride Big Opening Inning to 4th Straight Win
Published on August 26, 2014 under Frontier League (FL)
Normal CornBelters News Release
NORMAL, Ill. - The Normal CornBelters, presented by Illinois Corn Farmers, set the tone with a big first inning on the way to their fourth straight win, a 7-5 victory over the Lake Erie Crushers on Tuesday night at the Corn Crib.
The CornBelters put up four runs in their first time at bat, taking advantage of two walks and scoring on an RBI single by Aaron Dudley and a three-run opposite-field homer to right by Richard Lucas.
The Belters added a run in the second when Jhiomar Veras led off with a double and scored two ground-outs later with the RBI recorded by Pat McKenna. The advantage became 6-0 in the fourth inning when Ozney Guillen scored on an errant throw after being caught off second base.
The Crushers cut the deficit to 6-2 with a two-run line drive homer to the left field lawn by Kevin Franchetti. Lake Erie reached Normal starter Bobby Shore for five hits in the fifth inning, including a two-run homer by Franchetti and an RBI single by Anderson Hidalgo, to end the hurler's night and cut the Belters lead to 6-3.
The CornBelters got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Guillen for a 7-3 advantage. The Crushers knocked out three hits plus a walk but only scored once in the seventh, thanks in part to an outfield assist by Mike Schwartz to cut down a run at the plate, but the RBI by Hidalgo cut the deficit to 7-4.
The Crushers grabbed an unearned run when Craig Hertler led off the ninth by reaching on an error and scoring on a triple by Vincent Mejia, but the guests stranded two runners as the Belters hung on for the win.
Charley Short (7-3) earned the win in relief while Eric Anderson pitched the ninth for his sixth save. Jason Wilson (7-6) worked 4 1/3 innings and took the loss.
The Belters play their final two home games of the season on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 each evening. Wednesday features a pitching match-up of right-handers, Normal's Mike Schweiss (4-2, 6.42 ERA) and Lake Erie's Zach Gordon (3-4, 4.29). Meijer Winning Wednesday features four free reserved bleacher tickets when presenting a receipt from this baseball season from Meijer at the Mid-Illini Credit Union Box Office plus a fan will win a $100 Meijer gift card. If the Belters lose, the ticket stub can be redeemed for a ticket to Thursday's Fan Appreciation Night. Details can be found at the team web site, www.normalbaseball.com . The games can be heard live at www.normalbaseball.com beginning 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch.
THE NIBLET : Mini-Plan Packages for the 2014 season are currently on sale! To purchase Mini-Plan Package tickets, or for more information, please contact the CornBelters today at (309) 454-2255 (BALL) or stop by The Mid-Illini Credit Union Box Office at The Corn Crib during normal business hours.
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