Ridings, Miners Vault Past Rascals
Published on July 24, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
Marion, IL - The Southern Illinois Miners opened up their longest homestand of the season on Tuesday night at Rent One Park with a 6-1 victory over the River City Rascals, using strong pitching and power at the plate to take the series opener.
Nolan Earley got the game started in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to right-center field, his eighth on the season, putting the Miners up 1-0. They would also add to their lead with solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings off of rookie right-hander Dalton Roach (0-1), with Chance Shepard arching his 16th of the year out to left field in the fourth and Joe Duncan clearing the fence in left as well leading off the fifth inning, building the lead up to 3-0.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Steven Ridings was busy compiling a gem, as he retired the first nine batters he faced and carried a no-hitter through five innings. River City broke up the shutout with an RBI groundout by Zach Lavy in the seventh inning after back-to-back hits by Paul Kronenfeld and Mike Jurgella, but Ridings (6-4) completed his start by striking out J.D. Hearn to keep it a 3-1 Southern Illinois lead.
Then, in the bottom of the eighth, the Miners poured on three more runs to pull away against the Rascals bullpen, as Joe Dudek and Ben Moore singled before Harrison Bragg drove in a run with an RBI single to make it 4-1. A two-run triple from Jake Willsey followed, making it 6-1 and allowing Southern Illinois to record the comfortable margin of victory. Ridings got the win, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts, while the Miners collectively out-hit the Rascals ten to three in the contest.
The Miners will look to make it back-to-back victories and win the series on Wednesday night in Marion, with Kurt Heyer pitching for Southern Illinois against River City right-hander and former Miner Josh Kimborowicz at Rent One Park.
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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