Miners Move into First Place, Clinch Series with Win over Freedom
June 15, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners trailed early, but after taking the lead shortly thereafter, they held it thanks to another stout pitching performance by Jarett Miller, with the offense scoring five times in the final three innings to beat the Florence Freedom 7-1, clinching the series at Rent One Park on Wednesday night while also vaulting the Miners into first place in the West Division standings for the first time since May 28th.
Miller's lone hiccup on the scoreboard was a two-out RBI single by Garrett Vail in the top of the second inning to give Florence a 1-0 lead. Steve Marino changed that almost immediately when he lined a solo homer off Florence starter Zach Isler (2-3) to tie the game at 1-1. Southern Illinois loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the third inning and, on a double-play grounder by Craig Massey, took the lead when Toby DeMello scored to make it 2-1.
That's the way the game remained for the time being as both Miller (2-2) and Isler pitched around several baserunners in the middle innings. In the sixth inning, the Miners' offense roared to life and chased Isler from the game. After a flyout to open the inning, Nolan Earley and Marino hit back-to-back singles and Shane Kennedy drew a walk to load the bases. Francisco Rosario then hit a grounder that Florence second baseman Daniel Fraga threw wide to second base, allowing two runs to score for a 4-1 Miners lead. A sacrifice fly by DeMello and an RBI single by Aaron Gates later in the frame made it 6-1. Gates would also add a sacrifice fly of his own in the eighth off of Ethan Gibbons for the final margin.
Miller earned his second win in as many starts, surrendering one run on eight hits in six and two-thirds innings. He departed with two runners on base in the seventh, but the Miners' bullpen of Kyle Tinius, Chris DeBoo and Evan Mott combined to retire the final seven Florence batters of the game as Southern Illinois clinched the series and moved a half-game up on the Evansville Otters to the top of the West Division standings.
Gates finished 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs while three other Miners had two hits apiece in the contest. The Miners, now winners of ten of their last 11 games overall, will look to remain in first place by sweeping the series on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. in Marion, with Dan Ludwig starting on the mound against Florence southpaw Stetson Nelson.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the back-to-back 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.
Frontier League Stories from June 15, 2016
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- Two-Out Hitting Propels Southern Illinois Past Florence - Florence Y'alls
- Two-Out Magic Lifts Miners Past Freedom - Southern Illinois Miners
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