Miners Drop Rubber Match In Joliet

from the Southern Illinois Miners

JOLIET, IL – The Southern Illinois Miners nearly crawled out of a 6-0 first-inning deficit, scoring five unanswered runs to make it a one-run game in the fifth inning, but the Joliet Slammers added on late runs and defeated the Miners 12-7 to claim the weekend series two games to one.

Miners starter Matt Parish (1-1) ran into trouble in the first, hitting the leadoff batter and surrendering the game’s first run after a single put Ridge Hoopii-Haslam at third base on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Navin that made the score 1-0. After a walk to Edwin Gomez, Danny Zardon hit a three-run homer to make the score 4-0. Melvin Rodriguez added a solo shot in the next at-bat to extend the lead to 5-0, and it was 6-0 later in the frame on Luis Diaz’s RBI double.

Southern Illinois got one back immediately when Ryan Lashley extended his hitting streak to 10 games in a row with a solo home run, his tenth of the season, to make it 6-1 in the top of the second inning. Thanks to outstanding relief pitching by Corey Sessions, who tossed three innings with one baserunner allowed, and Damon Proctor, the Miners were able to hold the Slammers’ offense down, with the Miners’ bats rallying in the top of the fifth.

Lashley led off with a double and after Anthony Critelli singled him to third base, Zach Taylor drove Lashley in with a single to make it 6-2. London Lindley then hit another single to bring Critelli home and make the score 6-3, forcing a Joliet pitching change. After a fielder’s choice for the first out of the inning, Romeo Cortina‘s RBI single made the score 6-4, and Craig Massey followed with a single to load the bases for Nolan Earley, who drew a walk from Joe Ortiz (4-2) to extend his on-base streak to 23 games in a row and make the score 6-5.

But the Slammers would rally late to add on to their lead. In the bottom of the seventh, after a hit batter and a walk, Zardon hit a two-run double to left-center field to make the score 8-5, and in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Gomez hit a grand slam home run to push the advantage out to 12-5. In the ninth, the Miners got two runs back on RBI singles by Cortina and Massey, but got no closer.

Lindley led the Miners’ 13-hit attack offensively with three hits to tie a season-high, while Brett Wiley, Cortina and Lashley all had two hits apiece. Every player except one in the Miners’ starting lineup finished with at least one hit, with Wiley and Lashley also scoring multiple runs in the defeat.

The Miners return home on Tuesday night to begin a nine-game home stand with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Schaumburg Boomers at Rent One Park.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2016 Frontier League West Division Champions, the 2014 and 2015 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.