Portelli Sends Miners to Series Win over Otters
August 2, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, Ill. (August 2, 2015) - The Southern Illinois Miners got a huge comeback victory over the Evansville Otters in the rubber match of their weekend series at Rent One Park, completed with a two-out ninth-inning rally and capped by Brian Portelli's walk-off single for a 3-2 final score.
The Otters were able to score first in the game once again on a double by John Schultz and an RBI single by Josh Allen in the third inning off of Rick Teasley. Evansville starter Preston Olson held the Miners off the board until the fourth, when back-to-back singles by Aaron Gates and Michael Earley put runners at the corners with no one out and a double play groundout scoring Gates to tie the game at 1-1.
Evansville got that run right back, however, on a triple by Dean Wilson and an RBI single by Schultz to take a 2-1 advantage. Both pitchers were sharp in the next two innings, with both ending up with seven innings of work and quality starts on the game. But the Miners, after eight straight had been sent down by Olson, rallied to tie the score once again in the seventh inning.
Earley socked a double to left-center and moved to third on a Niko Vasquez single. Frank Martinez brought him home on a sacrifice fly to left field to make the score 2-2. Southern Illinois also loaded the bases later that inning, but could not push across any more runs.
In the eighth, both Joe Iorio and Connor Little (1-5) struck out the side in order, followed by a 1-2-3 ninth inning from Eric Green (4-2). That set up the ninth inning when, after two outs were recorded by Little on two more strikeouts, the Miners began their game-winning rally. Jerrud Sabourin parked a double into right-center and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Evansville intentionally walked Steve Marino, against new pitcher Edgar Lopez, Portelli was able to lift the winning hit past the outstretched glove of Allen to send the fans home happy.
Having shaved one game off of the Otters lead in the East Division with the series win, the Miners sit one game back in the standings having won their seventh straight series overall and fourth straight at home. They head to Schaumburg on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. to start a big six-game road trip against the Boomers and Otters, with reigning pitcher of the year Matt Bywater kicking things off in the series opener at Boomers Stadium.
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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