Miners Fall Just Short on Sunday
Published on May 24, 2015 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. (May 24, 2015) - The Southern Illinois Miners came back from a 5-0 early deficit and got the tying run into scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings, but ultimately fell short in a 5-4 defeat on Sunday evening at Rent One Park, completing a series sweep for the visitors, a first in Marion since September 2011.
The Aviators jumped on top 1-0 in the first, and extended the lead to 2-0 in the second when two throwing errors allowed Elijah Trail to score on a single down the right field line. A three-run third inning, capped off by a two-run homer by Ryan Breen off Rick Teasley (1-1) made the score 5-0 after three.
Southern Illinois then got back into it steadily over the last six frames. John Tangherlini settled down the Aviators bats with three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, and in the fourth, the Miners scored their first run of the series. Niko Vasquez led off with a double and was moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jon Minucci to make it 5-1.
The Miners would get runners on base in every inning from that point on, and after double plays ended the fifth and sixth, Southern Illinois would rally in the seventh. Minucci walked and Marquis Riley singled to put runners at first and second before Steve Marino launched a two-run triple- his first extra-base hit and RBIs of the season- to left-center field to make it a two-run game. Toby DeMello then lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Marino and draw the Miners within one.
The Miners loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and had runners at first and second with one out in the ninth, but the Aviators bullpen avoided any further damage as they completed a sweep in Marion. Vasquez, Marino and Aaron Gates all went 2-for-4 in the losing effort, with Will Rankin extending his scoreless streak to 29 1/3 consecutive innings with a scoreless ninth.
The Miners will head on the road to try and break their losing skid on Tuesay night against the Windy City ThunderBolts at 7:05 p.m., sending reigning Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater to the mound against Windy City's Travis Tingle.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2014 Frontier League East Division Champions and the 2012 Frontier League Champions. 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 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, contact the Rent One Park box office at 618-998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.
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