MARION, IL – The Southern Illinois Miners came all the way back from a five-run deficit early in the game on Saturday night at Rent One Park against the Joliet Slammers to take a 7-6 lead in the fifth inning, but could not hold it in a 9-7 loss, their second in a row to the visitors in Marion.

Joliet scored runs in each of the first four innings against Tyler Stubblefield, with Danny Zardon’s inside-the-park home run in the first making it 1-0. Two runs came across in the second inning, including a two-out single by Chase Patterson, for a 3-0 lead, and that was extended to 5-0 on two-out singles by Ridge Hoopii-Haslam and Chaz Meadows. The Miners got a run back as London Lindley doubled to lead off the bottom of the third and came home on an RBI single by Craig Massey, but the Slammers scored that run back in the top of the fourth inning on another two-out hit by Rock Shoulders to make the score 6-1.

The Miners then came all the way back in their next two turns at-bat. After Billy Germaine singled with one out in the fourth inning and Ben Moore was hit by a pitch, Culver Plant singled home a run to make it 6-2. Lindley’s groundout to shortstop plated another run to make it 6-3, and then Massey hit an infield single off the glove of Shoulders at first with two outs to make it a 6-4 ballgame heading to the fifth inning.

After a scoreless top half by the Slammers, the Miners got more two-out hitting to vault into the lead in the bottom half. Willi Martin doubled home Marc Flores home from first base with the runner in motion to make it a 6-5 ballgame. Two batters later, Moore singled Martin to third and Plant came up clutch to tie the game with a single up the middle, chasing Joliet starter Joe Ortiz. Lindley greeted Skylar Janisse (1-0) with an RBI single of his own, which gave the Miners their first lead of the contest at 7-6.

The Slammers responded, however, in the top of the sixth inning as Melvin Rodriguez hit a go-ahead, two-out, two-run homer to left to make it 8-7 Joliet. The Slammers added another run in the top of the seventh on Zardon’s RBI single for the final margin, as Southern Illinois got the tying run to the plate in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but could not score in the loss.

Germaine finished with three hits off the bench while Plant, Lindley, Massey and Flores all had two-hit nights. Plant and Massey added two RBIs apiece. Southern Illinois will look to avoid a sweep on Sunday at 5:05 p.m., with Corey Sessions taking the mound against the Slammers’ Shane Bryant.

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.

Box Score

Batting Stats

Batting
2B: A.Rodriguez (6), D.Zardon (3). HR: D.Zardon (2), M.Rodriguez (4).
RBI: D.Zardon 2 (9), R.Shoulders (19), M.Rodriguez 2 (18), R.Hoopii-Haslam (14), C.Meadows 2 (6), C.Patterson (1). SF: C.Meadows (1). SB: R.Hoopii-Haslam (4). Team LOB: 11.

Fielding A: D.Zardon 4 (20), M.Rodriguez (68), C.Meadows 8 (35). E: J.Silva (1), M.Rodriguez (4).
PO: A.Rodriguez 2 (47), J.Silva (37), R.Shoulders 13 (202), M.Rodriguez 2 (46), R.Hoopii-Haslam 3 (56), C.Meadows 2 (19), C.Patterson 4 (30). SBA: C.Patterson (7). TC: A.Rodriguez 2 (49), J.Silva 2 (39), D.Zardon 4 (28), R.Shoulders 13 (215), M.Rodriguez 4 (118), R.Hoopii-Haslam 3 (90), C.Meadows 10 (55), C.Patterson 4 (36).

S Illinois
#	Batter	P	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
23	Massey, C	2B	5	0	2	2	0	0	.284
15	Earley, N	RF	5	0	1	0	0	1	.258
19	Lashley, R	3B	5	0	1	0	0	1	.220
27	Flores, M	LF	5	1	2	0	0	1	.253
25	Martin, W	DH	5	1	1	1	0	1	.286
41	Chigbogu, J	1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	.233
30	Germaine, B	1B	4	1	3	0	0	0	.321
7	Moore, B	C	4	2	1	0	0	0	.194
26	Plant, C	SS	4	1	2	2	0	0	.429
2	Lindley, L	CF	4	1	2	1	0	0	.323
			42	7	15	6	0	4

Batting
2B: W.Martin (3), L.Lindley (5).  3B: N.Earley (1).  HP: B.Moore (5).  RBI: C.Massey 2 (12), W.Martin (9), C.Plant 2 (3), L.Lindley (5).  SB: C.Massey (2).  Team LOB: 9.

Fielding
A: C.Massey 4 (54), N.Earley (2), R.Lashley (30), C.Plant 3 (23), T.Stubblefield 3 (4), A.Dubsky (4).
E: R.Lashley (6), A.Dubsky (1).  PO: C.Massey 2 (40), N.Earley 2 (41), M.Flores 3 (18), J.Chigbogu 4 (181), B.Germaine 8 (16), B.Moore 5 (138), C.Plant (11), L.Lindley 2 (64).
SBA: B.Moore (28).  TC: C.Massey 6 (95), N.Earley 3 (44), R.Lashley 2 (45), M.Flores 3 (18), J.Chigbogu 4 (196), B.Germaine 8 (18), B.Moore 5 (145), C.Plant 4 (35), L.Lindley 2 (65), T.Stubblefield 3 (4), A.Dubsky 2 (5).

Pitching Stats

Pitching
BF: J.Ortiz 26, S.Janisse 13, C.Lara 4.
P-S: J.Ortiz 88-62, S.Janisse 47-34, C.Lara 14-10.

S Illinois
#	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
38	Stubblefield, T	4.0	10	6	4	0	1	6.16
21	Dubsky, A	1.2	2	2	2	4	1	3.18
10	Lollar, J	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	5.06
40	Tinius, K	1.1	2	0	0	0	0	2.08
28	Werner, J	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	2.38
		9	16	9	7	4	4

Pitching
BF: T.Stubblefield 23, A.Dubsky 11, J.Lollar 4, K.Tinius 6, J.Werner 3.
P-S: T.Stubblefield 82-54, A.Dubsky 50-26, J.Lollar 15-11, K.Tinius 24-19, J.Werner 21-12.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Joliet 1 2 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 9 16 2 S Illinois 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 7 15 2

 

The Southern Illinois Miners returned home to Rent One Park on Friday night, and rallied from down six runs in the sixth inning to get the tying run either on base or at the plate in the sixth, seventh and ninth, but could not complete their comeback attempts in falling to the Joliet Slammers 7-4.

Neither side got any baserunners against the opposition’s starting pitcher in the first two innings, as Payton Lobdell (2-3) and Luis Cruz (1-0) were dealing early. But the Slammers broke through in the third, scoring three runs on a wild pitch, an RBI single by Juan Silva and a subsequent single by Rock Shoulders to take a 3-0 lead. The Slammers would add to that total with one run in the fifth for a 4-0 advantage, and Silva’s two-run homer made it 6-0 in the fifth.

Cruz was removed after five shutout innings with five strikeouts and two baserunners allowed, but the Miners mounted several rallies against the Slammers’ bullpen. In the sixth, Culver Plant and London Lindley singled off Daniel Concepcion, and two batters later, Nolan Earley‘s single got the Miners on the board and made it 6-1. Willi Martin then came through with a two-run single to slice the Joliet lead to 6-3. A walk to Marc Flores put the tying run at the plate, but Ryan Lashley lined into a double play to end the threat.

The next inning, Concepcion departed after Billy Germaine walked and Plant singled, and Lindley’s single off Brian McKenna loaded the bases and put the tying run on first. But McKenna struck out the next two Miners to preserve the lead. After an insurance run scored in the eighth for the visitors on a fielder’s choice by Ridge Hoopii-Haslam, Southern Illinois attempted one last comeback in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Plant tripled and Lindley reached on an infield single. Craig Massey‘s walk loaded the bases and again brought the tying run to the plate. Earley hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to make it 7-4, but Martin bounced out to third base to end the game.

Plant finished 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored in his home debut for the Miners, while Lindley also posted a 3-for-4 day at the dish. Earley and Martin drove home two runs each, but the Slammers came away with the series-opening victory.

Southern Illinois will look to even the series on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. when Tyler Stubblefield takes the mound for the Miners against Joliet’s Joseph Ortiz, with the Miners retiring Ralph Santana’s #20 in a pregame ceremony on the field.

Box Score

Batting Stats

Batting
2B: E.Gomez (4), R.Hoopii-Haslam (3). 3B: E.Gomez (2). HP: E.Gomez (1). HR: J.Silva (6).
RBI: J.Silva 3 (18), R.Shoulders (18), R.Hoopii-Haslam (13). CS: D.Zardon (1), R.Hoopii-Haslam (3).
SB: J.Silva (5). Team LOB: 3.

Fielding
A: D.Zardon (16), M.Rodriguez 4 (67), C.Meadows (27), D.Concepcion (4). DP: 1 (M. Rodriguez(2B) – C. Meadows(SS) – R. Shoulders(1B)). PO: A.Rodriguez (45), D.Zardon 2 (7), R.Shoulders 5 (189), M.Rodriguez 2 (44), R.Hoopii-Haslam 2 (53), C.Patterson 9 (26), C.Meadows 5 (17), D.Concepcion (3).
TC: A.Rodriguez (47), D.Zardon 3 (24), R.Shoulders 5 (202), M.Rodriguez 6 (114), R.Hoopii-Haslam 2 (87), C.Patterson 9 (32), C.Meadows 6 (45), D.Concepcion 2 (7).

S Illinois
#	Batter	P	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
23	Massey, C	2B	4	0	1	0	1	1	.278
15	Earley, N	RF	4	1	1	2	0	2	.261
25	Martin, W	DH	5	0	1	2	0	2	.297
27	Flores, M	LF	3	0	0	0	1	1	.244
19	Lashley, R	3B	4	0	1	0	0	1	.221
41	Chigbogu, J	1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	.236
7	Moore, B	C	1	0	0	0	1	0	.190
30	Germaine, B	C	1	0	0	0	1	1	.286
26	Plant, C	SS	4	2	3	0	0	0	.412
2	Lindley, L	CF	4	1	3	0	0	0	.315
			34	4	10	4	4	9

Batting
3B: C.Plant (1).
RBI: N.Earley 2 (13), W.Martin 2 (8).
SF: N.Earley (3).
Team LOB: 8.

Fielding
A: C.Massey (50), R.Lashley (29), B.Moore 2 (6), B.Germaine (1), C.Plant 3 (20), P.Lobdell 2 (4), N.Palacios (3). CS: B.Moore (1), B.Germaine (1). DP: 2 (C. Massey(2B) – C. Plant(SS) – J. Chigbogu(1B),C. Plant(SS) – J. Chigbogu(1B)). PO: C.Massey 5 (38), N.Earley 2 (39), M.Flores 3 (15), J.Chigbogu 5 (177), B.Moore 3 (133), B.Germaine 3 (8), C.Plant 4 (10), L.Lindley (62), P.Lobdell (2).
SBA: B.Moore 2 (27), B.Germaine (1). TC: C.Massey 6 (89), N.Earley 2 (41), M.Flores 3 (15), R.Lashley (43), J.Chigbogu 5 (192), B.Moore 5 (140), B.Germaine 4 (10), C.Plant 7 (31), L.Lindley (63), P.Lobdell 3 (6), N.Palacios (4)

Joliet
#	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
	Cruz, L	5.0	1	0	0	1	5	0.00
32	Concepcion, D	1.1	5	3	3	2	0	8.07
20	McKenna, B	0.2	1	0	0	0	2	2.16
46	Lara, C	2.0	3	1	1	1	2	3.48
		9	10	4	4	4	9

Pitching
BF: L.Cruz 16, D.Concepcion 10, B.McKenna 3, C.Lara 10. P-S: L.Cruz 83-54, D.Concepcion 33-14, B.McKenna 16-11, C.Lara 35-21. WP: D.Concepcion (1).

S Illinois
#	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
16	Lobdell, P	5.0	8	6	6	1	2	7.82
12	DeBoo, C	1.0	0	0	0	2	1	4.91
1	Palacios, N	2.0	1	1	1	1	1	5.40
22	Liriano, E	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	5.69
		9	9	7	7	5	5

Pitching
BF: P.Lobdell 22, C.DeBoo 6, N.Palacios 6, E.Liriano 3. P-S: P.Lobdell 80-46, C.DeBoo 26-13, N.Palacios 21-16, E.Liriano 18-8. WP: P.Lobdell (1).

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Joliet	0	0	3	1	2	0	0	1	0	7	9	0
S Illinois	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	4	10	0