FL Southern Illinois Miners

Miners Rip Crushers in Rubber Match to Take Series

Published on August 4, 2016 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release


MARION, ILL. - The Southern Illinois Miners led 2-0 before falling behind 5-2 to the Lake Erie Crushers in the second inning on Thursday night at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio, but rallied all the way back and then some, scoring eleven unanswered runs and rolling to a 13-5 win in the rubber match between the two teams, clinching the series two games to one in the finale of a six-game road trip.

The Miners took the lead almost immediately as AARON GATES led off with a walk in the first and SHANE KENNEDY doubled down the right field line before CRAIG MASSEY's RBI groundout made it 1-0. ALEX DE LEON followed with an RBI single that made the score 2-0, but Lake Erie came back to take the lead against BROOKS TRUJILLO (2-3), scoring all five of their runs on five hits (including four doubles) in the second, making the score 5-2 in favor of the home team.

The Miners were far from done. They got two runs back immediately off Mike Devine (7-5) in the third inning on an RBI double by De Leon and a groundout with a man at third by NOLAN EARLEY, cutting the deficit to one run at 5-4. The next inning, Southern Illinois would take the lead, as with two outs in the inning and a runner at second base, Gates singled home the tying run to make it 5-5. After a single by Kennedy, Massey doubled to the left field corner to score both runners and make it 7-5 Miners.

That ended up putting Southern Illinois ahead to stay, but the Miners continued to pile on as the game went on. In the sixth inning, with two outs, Gates singled and stole second before Kennedy walked. Massey then launched another two-run double to deep center field for a 9-5 lead, followed by yet another double by De Leon to chase Devine and make it 10-5. Earley's subsequent RBI single put Southern Illinois ahead 11-5, and they would add single runs in the seventh, on another single by Gates, and in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by STEVE MARINO to complete the scoring and record the blowout victory.

Gates, Kennedy, Massey and De Leon all had three hits in the contest.

Gates finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base. Kennedy ended up with a Miners season-high four runs scored in going 3-for-5 himself, while Massey doubled twice in going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs. De Leon chipped in two doubles of his own and went 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs, while Earley went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in the contest as every player in the lineup except one had at least one hit in the game.

Now 46-22 on the season, the Miners will next head home for a six-game homestand beginning on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Joliet Slammers in a battle of first place teams in the East and West Divisions of the Frontier League. DYLLON NUERNBERG will pitch for Southern Illinois in the series opener against Joliet right-hander Shane Bryant.

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.

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