FL Southern Illinois Miners

Miners Split Wednesday Doubleheader with CornBelters

Published on May 31, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release


Marion, IL - The Southern Illinois Miners fell to the Normal CornBelters 13-6 in game one of a doubleheader at Rent One Park on Wednesday night before coming back late to take the second game 5-1, earning a split of the two contests to begin a three-game series in Marion.

In the first game, the CornBelters' bats jumped on Kurt Heyer, scoring five runs in the first inning and holding the lead the rest of the game. After they took a 6-0 lead with a single run in the second inning against Heyer (2-2), the Miners would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Ben Moore, a ground ball that turned into an error and an RBI for Anthony Critelli, and a sacrifice fly by Marc DiLeo to pull within 6-3, but Normal got all three runs back next half inning and also added four more in the top of the fifth for a 13-3 margin. Moore and Joe Dudek both homered down the stretch, and each finished with two RBIs in the contest, but it was not enough as the CornBelters took game one.

In the second contest, the game was scoreless through the first three innings, with Robby Rowland keeping the CornBelters off the board and Matt Portland doing the same for Normal. That changed when the visitors took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Tanner Lubach with two outs in the top of the fourth inning, ending a long scoreless streak for Rowland (4-0) at 18 innings pitched. The right-hander, however, would rebound and pitch six innings of one-run ball on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts, becoming the first Miners starter ever to win each of his first four starts in a season.

Offensively, the Miners jumped on reliever Anthony Herrera (1-2) in the fifth inning to come back in the game. With runners at first and third base and one out, Chance Shepard beat a potential inning-ending double play ground ball to first base, bringing in Chris Scura to tie the game at 1-1. Nolan Earley then doubled on the next pitch, scoring a hustling Shepard all the way from first base to put the Miners ahead 2-1. A wild pitch later in the inning would make it 3-1, and in the next frame, Dudek would homer again, a two-run blast off of Jonathan De Marte that provided the final 5-1 margin.

Dudek's two homers were part of a 4-for-7 day at the plate for the Miners' first baseman with four RBIs total, extending his hitting streak to 12 games in a row, while DiLeo and Scura also had two hits apiece in the Miners' 10-hit offensive attack in game two to help even the series at one game apiece.

Southern Illinois will look to take the series in the rubber match against Normal on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Geno Encina will get the ball for the Miners, opposed by Jack Landwehr for Normal.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the Frontier League's winningest 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. For ticket information, contact the box office at (618) 998-8499. For additional information, visit our website at www.siminers.com.

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Frontier League Stories from May 31, 2018


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