Miners' Offense Comes Alive to Sweep Florence
June 17, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners got a strong team offensive performance, pounding out 12 hits and tying their season-high with 11 runs in an 11-6 victory over the Florence Freedom, sweeping the series at Rent One Park in Marion with their 11th win in their last 12 games overall and improving to 20-10 on the season.
Southern Illinois took the lead right away in the first against Florence starter Stetson Nelson (0-3), as Aaron Gates led off with a walk and ended up scoring on an RBI single by Alex De Leon for a 1-0 Miners lead. An error allowing Craig Massey to reach in the third ended up scoring Gates from second base to make the score 2-1, and in the fourth inning, the Miners chased Nelson and got RBI singles by Gates and Francisco Rosario to make the score 4-0.
Dan Ludwig held the Freedom off the board until the top of the fifth inning, when Florence used a two-out single and double plus a wild pitch to make the score 4-1. The Miners would get that run back in their half of the fifth on an RBI double by Riley Moore for a 5-1 lead, but Florence was able to get another run in the sixth off Ludwig (3-0), who departed with men at second and third and the tying run at the plate. But rookie right-hander Brooks Trujillo struck out Isaac Wenrich and got Jordan Brower to ground out to preserve the 5-2 score.
The Miners would pile on the runs late in the contest as well, scoring one in the seventh on another wild pitch and then five more in the eighth thanks to five Florence walks and three hits, with Julius Gaines, Steve Marino and Gates picking up RBIs in the inning. After retiring nine batters in a row at one point, the Miners faltered on the mound in the ninth, as they too walked five Freedom batters to help the visitors plate four runs of their own. But Kyle Tinius got Collins Cuthrell to fly out to end the game and complete the sweep.
Gates led the charge offensively for Southern Illinois, going 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored and two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 10 in a row and raise his batting average on the season to .362, while Gaines, Marino and Moore all had two-hit nights at the plate. Marino and Shane Kennedy scored two runs apiece, while Rosario had two RBIs as well. Every player but two in the Miners starting lineup scored at least one run with six of the nine batters drove in at least one.
The Miners will continue their homestand on Friday night against the Normal CornBelters at 7:05 p.m. Dyllon Nuernberg will take the mound for the Miners opposed by Normal right-hander Chris Carmain.
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 17, 2016
- Grizzlies Launch Five Homers to Beat Florence - Gateway Grizzlies
- Gateway Powers Past Florence - Florence Y'alls
- Slammers Blow out Boomers 9-0 - Joliet Slammers
- Miners' Offense Held in Check in Loss to Normal - Southern Illinois Miners
- Streak Ends as Boomers Blanked at Joliet - Schaumburg Boomers
- Bums Drop Fifth Straight - Traverse City Beach Bums
- CornBelters Use Early Offense to Beat Miners - Normal CornBelters
- Crushers leave Beach Bums in the dark - Lake Erie Crushers
- Washington Whirls Past Windy City Thunderbolts; Foss Pitches Shutout - Washington Wild Things
- ThunderBolts' Offense Shutdown in 3-0 Loss - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Yankees Purchase Contract of Josh Gardiner - Schaumburg Boomers
- Freedom Swept by Miners - Florence Y'alls
- Otters Come Up Short In Offensive Battle - Evansville Otters
- Rascals Fall Short Thursday Night against the CornBelters - River City Rascals
- Miners' Offense Comes Alive to Sweep Florence - Southern Illinois Miners
- Grizzlies Hang on for Series Sweep of Otters - Gateway Grizzlies
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.
