Miners Walk off Beach Bums in Eleventh
June 25, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. (June 24, 2015) - The Southern Illinois Miners trailed 2-0 early in game two of their series with the Traverse City Beach Bums, but came back to take the lead, then saw the visitors tie it in the ninth before finally winning it on Niko Vasquez's sacrifice fly, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Rent One Park.
The Beach Bums scored one run in each of the first two innings off of starter Adam Lopez, but Lopez would settle down from there, working seven innings and striking out six while allowing only five hits for a quality start. Meanwhile, the Miners once again got a home run from Vasquez, his eighth of the season and his fifth in his last six games, to tie the contest in the bottom of the third at 2-2.
The score remained tied despite constant pressure on Traverse City starter Luis DeJesus, as the Miners had at least one runner on base in every single inning. DeJesus, who had not given up a single hit this year with runners in scoring position, finally cracked in the seventh. Vasquez hit a two-out ground-rule double before Frank Martinez plated the go-ahead run on a single off the first base bag, giving the Miners a 3-2 edge.
A leadoff walk issued by Will Rankin, however, came around to score in the top of the ninth to once again tie the game at 3-3. With the game still tied in the top of the 11th, the new International Tiebreaker rule in the Frontier League gave the Beach Bums an automatic runner at second to start the inning. However, with Brandon Jacobs batting, a pitch from Pete Perez (1-0) sailed over Toby DeMello to the backstop. The ball came right back to the Miners catcher, though, and he was able to nab Yazy Arbelo sliding into third to eliminate the automatic baserunner.
In the bottom half, the Miners got the same advantage, and after Aaron Gates hit an infield single, Michael Earley laid down a sacrifice that Beach Bums reliever Bret Dahlson (0-1) could not handle, loading the bases with no one out. Vasquez then won it on the next pitch with his sac fly to center, with auto-runner Adrian English beating former Miner Jay Austin's throw home to even the series at one game apiece.
The Miners pounded out 14 hits as a team, led by three from Gates, with Vasquez driving in three and scoring two more for yet another huge game. The Miners will go for the series win at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday night, with Rick Teasley taking the mound against the Beach Bums' Ian MacDougall.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2014 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.
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