Miners Suffer Heartbreaking Defeat in Game One
September 6, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners led the River City Rascals 3-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but allowed four runs in the frame on a three-run homer by Kyle Gaedele and two wild pitches after a Mike Jurgella double to suffer a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat in Game One of the Frontier League Division Series at CarShield Field in O'Fallon.
The game was a pitchers' duel throughout the first eight-plus innings with Jarett Miller and Austin Warner going toe-to-toe. Miller ended up pitching six shutout innings with one walk, three hits allowed (all singles) and seven strikeouts, while Warner pitched into the seventh inning and struck out 11 but also allowed all three Miners runs. Southern Illinois struck first with the first hit of the ballgame in the third, as after Toby DeMello walked leading off, two batters later, Aaron Gates hit a two-run homer to right-center to make it 2-0 Miners. That's the way the game stayed until the seventh, when Alex De Leon led off with a walk and eventually scored on DeMello's sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
After Miller departed, Evan Mott and Rich Mascheri held the fort for one and two-thirds innings, with Adam Lopez coming in to finish off the eighth. But in the bottom of the ninth, Josh Ludy and Josh Silver led off with singles before Gaedele tied the game with a three-run homer to left field. After a flyout for the first out of the inning, Jurgella doubled to center field and then with Clint Freeman batting, Lopez (0-1) threw two wild pitches in the dirt, allowing Jurgella to come home with the winning run to shock the Miners in Game One.
The Miners will look to rebound in Game Two at 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday night at CarShield Field, with Corey Sessions drawing the starting assignment against a starter to be named for River City.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2016 Frontier League West Division Champions, the 2014 and 2015 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 September 6, 2016
- Miners Suffer Heartbreaking Defeat in Game One - Southern Illinois Miners
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- Boomers Set Team Attendance Record - Schaumburg Boomers
- Rascals Host Game 1 of the Division Playoffs Tonight - River City Rascals
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