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 Joliet Slammers

Slammers Blow out Boomers 9-0

June 17, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release


JOLIET, IL- Joliet, IL - The Joliet Slammers presented by ATI Physical Therapy scored early and often, allowing starting pitcher Liam O'Sullivan to coast to his third win of the season in the Slammers' 9-0 win over the Schaumburg Boomers Friday, June 17.

The Slammers returned home after a six-game road trip where they went 4-2. The Slammers came out strong in the first three innings, putting up seven runs, which was more than enough for O'Sullivan to hold off the Boomers.

O'Sullivan pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to pick up his third win of the season. He also struck out five batters. O'Sullivan said his reason for success has come from being able to locate all his pitches for strikes.

"I like to establish a fastball," O'Sullivan said. "I was able to do that again (Friday)."

O'Sullivan had five walks in six innings, yet the Slammers' defense held strong. He has had eight appearances, including six starts. He has received a no decision in three of his starts on the mound.

Charlie White put the Boomers in a hole right off the bat with a lead off single that was followed up with a steal. Boo Vazquez brought in White two batters later on a double to left center field. Vazquez later scored off a sacrifice fly by Carter Bell. Vazquez advanced to third earlier in the inning on a wild pitch. Bell currently leads in the Frontier League with 31 RBIs.

The Slammers went on to score one run in the second inning and four more times in the third to give them a 7-0 lead that the Boomers could never recover from.

Joliet kept their momentum going in the third inning with Marc Flores, Jake Gronsky, and Melvin Rodriguez driving in runs off singles. Gronsky had an RBI single that scored two runs.

The Slammers added two more runs in the sixth inning for good measure, and held their 9-0 lead the rest of the way.

While the Slammers had no problems scoring runs and getting base hits, the Boomers struggled to even threat to score a run. Their biggest threat came in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, but O'Sullivan fought back to get out of the inning.

The Slammers' pitcher got Justin Byrd to pop out to Alfredo Rodriguez at short and Jordan Dean to line into an inning-ending double play.

"It makes pounding the zone that much easier and that's what I was so upset about my five walks," O'Sullivan said. "In a 9-0 ball game, you shouldn't be walking people. I'm just trying to get these guys back in the dugout as quick as I can."

He has been one of the Slammers strongest pitchers through the first 32 games of the season. His 2.24 ERA also puts him in the top-10 in the Frontier League, but moving forward, he is just going to try to keep doing what he is doing he said.

"I've gotten into a pretty good routine," O'Sullivan said. "Me and my catcher Joe Staley are on the same page every pitch."

Marc Rutledge replaced O'Sullivan in the seventh and took care of the rest of the game keeping the Boomers off the scoreboard, and securing the Slammers' second-straight shutout.

Friday's Merchants and Manufacturers player of the game is Liam O'Sullivan for his performance on the mound.

With the win, the Slammers improve to 18-14 on the year, putting them in second place just behind the 19-12 Thunderbolts. The Washington Wild Things are right behind the Slammers with a 16-14 record.

The Slammers and Boomers will be back at Silver Cross Field Saturday when Andre Dawson joins the team for a night at 7:05 p.m.


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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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