Miners Come Back Late to Beat Boomers
July 3, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, IL - The Southern Illinois Miners trailed 2-0 after six innings on Saturday at Wintrust Field against the Schaumburg Boomers, but scored one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to come back and win the game 3-2, evening up the Independence Day weekend series at one game apiece.
The game was a pitcher's duel between Trent Johnson and Orlando Rodriguez, with the Miners rookie shutting out the Boomers over the first five innings on just two singles with four strikeouts, and the Schaumburg right-hander also blanking the Miners over the first five innings on two hits and one walk, also with four strikeouts.
In the top of the sixth, the Miners got a leadoff double by Carson Bartels and a balk by Rodriguez to put him at third base with no one out, but could not bring him in for the first run of the game. In the bottom half, the Boomers capitalized as Brett Milazzo walked, stole second base, and went to third with one out thanks to an error. Matt Bottcher's sacrifice fly to right field scored Milazzo to make it 1-0, and Quincy Nieporte followed with a solo home run, putting Schaumburg up 2-0 after six innings.
The Miners would then make their comeback. Nolan Earley led off the top of the seventh with a single against Rodriguez, and Ian Walters moved him to third base on another single two batters later. Arturo Nieto then drove Earley in with a sacrifice fly to cut the Boomers' lead to 2-1.
In the next inning, the Miners would take the lead against Jake Joyce (2-1). With two outs and the bases empty, John Cable dropped a pinch-hit single to right field and Gianfranco Wawoe walked, putting the tying run in scoring position. Earley then singled up the middle against Boomers reliever Darryl Thompson, scoring Cable to tie the game at 2-2 and moving pinch-runner Marshall Rich to third base. Jared Mang then singled to left field to score Rich and put the Miners in front for the first time at 3-2.
The Boomers would threaten against Joey Pulido in the eighth and ninth innings, but Nieto nabbed Clint Hardy trying to steal second base to end a threat in the eighth, and after a double in the ninth by Chase Dawson put the tying run in scoring position with one out, Pulido struck out Matt McGarry for the second out. Nick Ames then hit a ground ball wide of third base, and Walters made a diving stop and throw to first to end the game and give the Miners the victory.
Southern Illinois will conclude both the series and their road trip on Sunday, July 4 against the Boomers at 6:00 p.m. Zac Westcott will get the starting nod on the mound against Schaumburg left-hander Bryan Ketchie in the Independence Day matchup at Wintrust Field.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the Frontier League's most-successful franchise since debuting in 2007, winning the 2012 Frontier League Championship as well as division titles in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016. They have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception, and also set a new Frontier League attendance record in their inaugural season. In addition, they have sent 60 players to MLB organizations in their 14 years of operation. For ticket information, contact the box office at (618) 998-8499. For additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.
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