Slammers' Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short
Published on July 20, 2016 under Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release
JOLIET, IL- The Slammers' attempt at a comeback came too late as they lost their second straight game to the Southern Illinois Miners Wednesday night. The Joliet Slammers presented by ATI Physical Therapy scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning but it was not enough as they fell to the Miners 8-7, July 20.
It was "Turn the Ballpark Blue" night at Silver Cross Field, and the Slammers were almost able to send the fans away in exciting fashion.
Joliet rallied in the ninth as they started the inning trailing 8-1.
Jake Gronsky brought in a pair of runs on a single and an error by shortstop Francisco Rosario. Joe Staley drove in a run in the ninth, and was the only Slammer to drive in a run before the eighth inning. The Miners' starting pitcher Dyllon Nuernberg shut down the Slammers' offense. After Staley's RBI single in the second, he retired 18 consecutive batters.
"He mixed stuff up pretty good," Staley said. "He had a curveball and a cutter. We weren't hot. He shouldn't have done what he did. We weren't on tonight."
While Nuernberg was on Wednesday night, the Slammers' starting pitcher Kaleb Ort struggled to locate and it came back to bite the Slammers.
One pitch in the third inning changed the course of the game combined with the Slammers inability to score runs early in the game led to their loss. The Slammers did not have a base runner until Sikes Orvis drew a walk in the eighth inning.
"He wasn't locating," the Slammers' catcher Staley said. "He put some guys on base, missed some spots. Bases loaded, (Nolan Earley) was hitting dead-red. We threw it down the middle and missed a little bit of a spot there and her ran into it."
With runners on second and third with two outs in the third inning, Ort intentionally walked Alex De Leon to face Earley, and one pitch later it was 5-1. The Miners hit another key home run in the ninth inning to give them the extra run they needed to win the game.
Kurt Wertz Jr. took Marc Rutledge's 0-2 pitch deep to right field to give the Miners an 8-1 lead.
Although Ort struggled to locate in his 3.1 innings of work, Tyler Levine and Brent Choban kept the Slammers in the game in the long run. Levine and Choban combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings.
The Slammers' late-game rally shows that they are able to handle the first-place Miners, and with a few improvements at the plate and on the mound, they can find a way to win, Staley said.
"Mentally we haven't been playing to the level that we did earlier in the season," Staley said. "It shows that they're not untouchable, Southern Illinois. They've got a great record and they're winning ballgames, but honestly they don't intimidate me at the plate."
The Miners have had one big inning in each of first two games of the series.
"They've had some big innings here and there, but it's nothing that we cant' handle," Staley said. "Our pitching staff needs to come through and throw strikes. We're walking a lot of guys."
Wednesday's Merchants and Manufacturers Player of the Game was Joe Staley for driving in two runs.
The Slammers will be back tomorrow to wrap up the series with the Miners starting at 7:05 p.m
About the Joliet Slammers: The Joliet Slammers presented by ATI Physical Therapy play at Silver Cross Field in downtown Joliet, Illinois, and are members of the professional, independent Frontier League. The Frontier League is a 12-team league entering its 24th season of play in 2016. Visit the Slammers online at www.jolietslammers.com or call the ticket office at 815-722-2287 for more information! Don't forget to "Like" the Slammers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jolietslammers, follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @jolietslammers, or add them on Snapchat, username jolietslammers!
Frontier League Stories from July 20, 2016
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