Everything You Could Want in a Ballgame for the Slimers... Except for the Win
Published on June 6, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release
JOLIET, IL - 17 strikeouts, 22 walks, 31 hits and 37 runs in an extra-inning four-and-a-half-hour baseball game created one of the most exciting Ghostbuster Nights that has ever graced Slammers Stadium. Nicknamed the Slimers for Friday's matchup, the Joliet Slammers (8-16), after clawing their way back into this game multiple times, could not close out against the Windy City Thunderbolts (12-13), losing 19-18.
The scoring started right away for the Thunderbolts, as two walks and a single to start the game set up two sacrifice ground outs by Justin Fogel and Victor Cerny to score a pair of runners. James Dunlap followed that up with an RBI single to score Jared Beebe. Slammers starting pitcher Blane Zeplin balked the next batter which scored Daryl Ruiz who was walked earlier in the inning. All that action gave Windy City the 4-0 lead after the top of the 1st inning.
The Slammers quickly responded as after the first two batters got on base, Blake Berry hit a 2-RBI double in the bottom of the 1st. That brought the score to 4-2 in favor of the Thunderbolts after just one inning.
Windy City kept their foot on the gas as Josue Urdaneta scored off a wild pitch from Zeplin in the top of the 2nd. Fogel then hit an RBI single followed by a sacrifice fly from Cerny to score a runner before Ruiz hit a 2-run homer into right field, bringing the score to 9-2.
Determined to stay in this game, the Slammers responded with an RBI single from Ian Battipaglia to start the bottom of the 2nd inning. Berry one-upped Ruiz's homer with a 3-run shot of his own, ending the 2nd inning at a 9-6 score still favoring the Thunderbolts.
Unwilling to give up the lead, the Thunderbolts were able to get an RBI single from Beebe and a 2-RBI double from Fogel in the top of the 3rd. The bottom of the 3rd inning marked the first half-inning without a runner coming home, leaving the score at 12-6.
The Thunderbolts kept their scoring streak alive as Urdaneta hit a 2-RBI single to score Dunlap and Donte Grant in the top of the 4th inning, bringing Windy City's lead to 14-6.
Jackson Valera was able to induce a ground out to score Battipaglia, but that was all Joliet could muster in the bottom of the 4th inning, with the score now sitting at 14-7.
The top of the 5th inning was more of the same for Windy City as they put two more on the board off a sacrifice fly from Cerny and an RBI single from Dunlap.
The Slammers matched the two runs in the bottom of the 5th with a sacrifice fly from Ryan Lee and an RBI single from Brett Stanley. That ended the 5th inning at 16-9, with the Thunderbolts continuing to hold on to the lead.
Yet another sacrifice fly from Cerny scored another runner for Windy City in the top of the 6th, but the Thunderbolts could not put multiple scores on the board for the first time all game.
Two errors from Thunderbolts fielders brought two runners home for the Slammers, and Spencer Rich hit a sacrifice fly to bring another runner to home plate. That brought the score to 17-12 after six innings.
Joliet kept Windy City scoreless for the first time all game in the top of the 7th, and they took advantage in the bottom of the 7th inning. A 2-RBI single from Suto and an RBI double from Rich brought the score to the closest it had been since the game first started, with the Thunderbolts holding a 17-15 lead.
Ruiz was able to score a runner off of a single, but the Slammers shut down any other opportunity in the top of the 8th inning, leaving the score at 18-15.
Joliet brought it back within two as a sacrifice fly from Berry to score a runner marked the 6th runner he had brought home this game alone. The Slammers left the 8th inning now only down 18-16.
The Slammers contained the Thunderbolts when they needed to most in the top of the 9th, which meant it all came down to the bottom of the 9th inning. After Suto got a double to start the half-inning, Jackson Beaman hit a 2-run shot just over the 400-foot center field wall to tie the game up for the first time since the score was 0-0. No other runners got on base for Joliet, but Beaman had done enough to bring the game into extra innings, tied 18-18.
In the top of the 10th inning, a wild pitch scored the 2nd base pinch runner Oscar Serrato, giving Windy City the lead once again. That ended up being the only score for either team in the 10th, as pinch runner Billy Sullivan was left stranded on 3rd base for the Slammers. After four and a half hours of nonstop action, the Thunderbolts walked away victorious with a 19-18 win.
After an incredible game that just kept on giving, the Slammers will sleep off the rough loss before playing the Thunderbolts for the second game in the series at home on Saturday. After scoring 19 runs in each of their past two games, Windy City will look to bring their high-scoring potential back to Slammers Stadium on Saturday.
By: Braeden Jones
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- Otters Use Team Effort to Win Matinee Middle Game - Evansville Otters
- Crushers Rained out in Quebec, Doubleheader Tomorrow at 3pm - Lake Erie Crushers
- Everything You Could Want in a Ballgame for the Slimers... Except for the Win - Joliet Slammers
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