Miners Beat Florence On Walk-Off Walk In 12th
July 29, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. (July 28, 2014) - The Southern Illinois Miners saw the Florence Freedom tie the game on a solo home run in the ninth before rallying in the 12th inning to win by a 4-3 final score on a walk-off walk by Niko Vasquez with the bases loaded.
The winning rally started in memorable fashion, as pitcher Britt Robertshaw was forced to bat for himself to lead off the 12th thanks to substitutions made earlier in the game that included bringing Vasquez, who started the game at designated hitter, into the field at third base. Robertshaw singled to right for his first professional hit in his first professional at-bat. He would be on base for a short time, as two consecutive fielder's choice plays put Tyler Booth on first with two outs.
The patience of the Miners then came into play, as Marquis Riley and Ryan Cavan both drew four-pitch walks off Florence reliever Daniel DeSimone (3-3) to load the bases. After taking a called strike, Vasquez then drew four balls to send the Miners to their sixth walk-off win this season and their seventh extra-inning victory overall.
The game went to extras when Michael Wilson hit a solo homer in the ninth inning to tie the game at 3-3 against closer Derrick Miramontes. Southern Illinois had held a 3-2 lead since the third, when Vasquez singled home Riley against Florence Starter Casey Henn, thanks to strong pitching by Matt Bywater and Stew Brase. Bywater pitched into the eighth inning for the Miners, allowing just one earned run with six strikeouts.
Southern Illinois trailed 2-0 in the bottom of the second before Steve Marino tied it with a two-run homer, his second of the year, before Vasquez's single the next inning for the 3-2 lead.
The Miners improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 with the win, and clinched their 12th straight series win at home and seventh straight series win overall. They go for the sweep on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m., with Michael Carden pitching against Florence's Dave Middendorf.
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.
• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...
Frontier League Stories from July 29, 2014
- Miners Score Four in the Ninth to Stun Freedom - Florence Y'alls
- Hassna's Strong Start Pushes Aviators Past Bolts - Rockford Aviators
- ThunderBolts Fall 3-2 in Rockford - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Joliet Takes Series Finale 3-1 - Traverse City Beach Bums
- Slammers Defeat Traverse City 3-1 on Tuesday Night - Joliet Slammers
- Boomers Sweep Crushers - Lake Erie Crushers
- July 29 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
- Wagman Purchased by Athletics - Rockford Aviators
- Georgia Satelittes to Play at Silver Cross Field on August 16 - Joliet Slammers
- Boomers Sweep Past Crushers - Schaumburg Boomers
- Slammers To Give Away Up To $114,000 To Fans In August & September - Joliet Slammers
- Two-run third inning for Schaumburg dooms Lake Erie - Lake Erie Crushers
- Miners Beat Florence On Walk-Off Walk In 12th - Southern Illinois Miners
- Otters Walk-Off Win Earns Doubleheader Split, Tie for First Place - Evansville Otters
- CornBelters Clinch Series with 12-Inning Win over Rascals - Normal CornBelters
- Freedom Fall in 12 Innings to Miners - Florence Y'alls
- Wild Things Split Double Header with Otters - Washington Wild Things
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
