Miners Drop Middle Game in Evansville
August 12, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Ariel Sandoval of the Southern Illinois Miners
(Southern Illinois Miners)
Marion, IL - The Southern Illinois Miners had a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning on Wednesday night at Bosse Field, but could not hold it as the Evansville Otters came back to tie the score in the bottom of the eighth, eventually winning 9-8 in ten innings to even the mid-week series.
The Miners got on the board in the first inning with a pair of two-out hits back-to-back, with Ariel Sandoval driving in Nolan Earley to make it 1-0. The Otters would then score two in the bottom of the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Miles Gordon and an RBI single by Andrew Penner to take a 2-1 lead.
That lead would hold until the fifth inning, when Luke Mangieri led off with a double and scored on an RBI double two batters later by Arturo Nieto to knot the score at 2-2. In the following inning, Southern Illinois would vault in front on a two-out, two-run double by Mangieri, making the score 4-2 and chasing Evansville starter Braden Scott from the game.
The Miners would keep up the offense in the top of the seventh as well, as Nieto led off with a walk and went to second on Bryant Flete's single. After a sacrifice bunt, Earley's RBI single plated Nieto to make it 5-2, and a sac fly by Sandoval would increase the lead to 6-2 at the seventh-inning stretch.
But the Otters came back. A wild pitch with a runner on third base in the bottom of the seventh made the score 6-3, and in the bottom of the eighth, Gordon tripled home two more runners that reached base on walks before scoring on an RBI single by Jose Pujols to make it 6-6.
Neither team would be able to score in the ninth inning, sending it to extras. In the tenth, with the international tiebreaker in effect, after a fielder's choice and an error put runners at first and third base, another sacrifice fly by Sandoval brought in the automatic runner and made it 7-6. Two batters later, after Earley had stolen second base, Jarrod Watkins came off the bench with a pinch-hit RBI single to make the score 8-6 heading to the bottom half of the tenth.
But it was not enough, as Evansville rallied for three runs in the bottom half, using another RBI hit by Gordon to make it 8-7 and a Pujols sacrifice fly to tie the score at 8-8 before Gary Mattis' walk-off single over the drawn-in infield ended the game. Mangieri led the way offensively with three hits, including two more doubles, and two RBIs, while Sandoval went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, and Nieto finished 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs of his own.
The Miners will look to win the series in the rubber game on Thursday night, August 12, at 6:35 p.m., with Chase Cunningham starting against the Otters' Polo Portela at Bosse 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.
Images from this story
 Ariel Sandoval of the Southern Illinois Miners |
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