Rend Lake Fisheries Habitat Improvement Installation Day

June 14, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Press Release from U.S Army Corps of Engineers – Rend Lake Project office

BENTON, IL- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District will be installing 100 new fishing structures in the Jackie Branch Boat Ramp area.  The staff at Rend Lake will partner with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to install 50 spider bocks and 50 porcupine balls along the shoreline and breakwater in the cove.  This will improve fishing from both the shoreline and by boat.  

The new habitat improvement program, in addition to the yearly installation of donated Christmas tree sets, has been prompted by a $10,000 grant from the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership Grant and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.  The grant has allowed Rend Lake to purchase the supplies needed to build 700 spider blocks and 150 Porcupine balls. This will improve over 28 more locations with structure for the fish to hide in.  Half of these locations will address improving popular shoreline fishing locations.

The team will meet at 0830 on Friday, June 16th in the Jackie Branch Boat Ramp parking area. By 0900, they should be ready for the first trip out.  We expect the installation to take a total of 4 hours. Jackie Branch Boat Ramp is located on the north side of Hwy 154 and is the first Corps recreation area west of the lake heading towards Sesser from I-57. Please contact the Rend Lake Project Office if you need further directions.  Photographs and video should be possible from the shoreline and from the habitat barge doing the installation. The Corps of Engineers will have life jackets for those who want to go out on the boat.

For more information, email the Rend Lake Project Office & Visitor Center at RendInfo@usace.army.mil or phone 618-724-2493.

For more information on Rend Lake, visit the Rend Lake Homepage at, www.mvs.usace.army.mil/rend  and Facebook site at Rend Lake Project Office/ Visitor Center

Filed Under: Sports

REND LAKE FISHING REPORT

June 14, 2017 By Leave a Comment

LARGEMOUTH BASS – Good, using minnows spinner baits, worms, and black and blue jigs.  Reports of fish being caught around Jackie Branch, Sandusky Cove, and below the dam. Fish in shallow bays near brush cover and bushes. Fish around bridges and along the rocks 14” minimum length limit, 6 daily creel limit. 1 fish daily creel limit in PONDS 14” minimum length.

CRAPPIE –Excellent, using meal worms. Small & medium minnows. Quarter-ounce pink and white tub jigs. Shallow water!  Fish attractors!  From shore, fish near structures, hot spots are Jackie Branch, Sandusky, Sailboat Harbor, Marcum coves, and Ina Boat Ramp. Try the Jackie Branch Breakwater and along Mine 21 Road. Fish the main lake drop off areas.  25 fish daily creel limit with no more than 10 fish 10 inches or longer

BLUEGILL- good using small jigs, worms, meal worms, wax worms, crickets.  From shore try Sailboat Harbor and Mine 21 Road. Try fishing shallow with crickets, worms or small jigs. Fish in the back of necks and on flat shallow banks and on the rocks.  10 fish daily creel limit in PONDS.

CHANNEL CATFISH – Excellent using large minnows, leeches, Hoss’s Hawg Bait, night crawlers, and Sonny’s stink bait.  Try leeches in moving water.  Drift fish the flats. Set line 3-4’ from the shore over rocks. Try the Waltonville Dam, Turnip Patch, Jackie Branch, and North Sandusky Day Use Area.  6 fish daily creel limit in PONDS. Jugs must be attended at all times while fishing.

WHITE BASS Good, using in-line spinners, jig and curly tail grubs.    Reports of fish being caught around the 154 bridges. Fish around along the rocks and drop-offs Fish in shallow bays near brush cover and bushes. 20 fish creel limit. No more than 3 fish 17” or longer daily

Information as of:  06/13/2017 LAKE LEVEL: 408.50      AVERAGE POOL FOR THIS DATE: 407.91     WATER TEMP:  76°F

Use of a minnow seine, cast net, or shad scoop for bait collecting within 1000 yards downstream of the Rend Lake dam and spillway is prohibited.

Maps of the Fish Attractor tree locations along with GPS readings are available at the Rend Lake Corps of Engineers Project Office.  Contact Randy Cordray for more information at (618) 724-2493.

Filed Under: Slider, Sports

Cardinals take first game of DH with aginst Milwaukee

June 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment

The bench for the St. Louis Cardinals came through  today as the St. Louis Cardinals shut out the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 this afternoon.  Jose Martinez homered twice as he started in RF to give Stephen Piscotty the first game off, and Chad Huffman picked up a big pinch hit triple in the bottom of the fifth.

Three Cardinal hurlers combined for the shutout as Lance Lynn pitched the first five innings striking  out eight.  John Brebbia worked the sixth.  Tyler Lyons pitched the last three innings to pick up the save.

St. Louis pulls into a tie for second place with the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, as it is the fourth win in a row for the Cardinals.

Marco Gonzales will take the mound for the Cardinals in game 2.  The starter for the Brewers is still to be determined.

Filed Under: Sports

Upcoming series with Milwaukee will determine Cardinals fate for the rest of the year

June 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

First of all, the Cardinals have made a roster move optioning I Paul DeJong to Memphis.  Who they are calling up has not been determined, and will be announced until closer to game time.

DeJong went down to get at bats.  It was obvious in the Philadelphia series that Matheny was not going to give him any playing time.  He needs to develop more patience at the plate, as he did not draw a walk the whole time he spent with the big club.  I was very impressed with his glove.  He will be back.

Speculation in the St. Louis media, claims it to be either relief pitcher Sam Tuivailala or OF Randall Grichuk.

The theory behind Tuivailala getting the call is for the extra arm in the bullpen for the DH this afternoon.  Grichuk getting the call comes from comments from General Manager John Mozeliak that he needs to either “sink or swim.”

In my view, Tommy Pham has won the LF job.  I have no problem with Grichuk coming up and being a fourth outfielder.  At one time I thought he was the Cardinal cleanup hitter of the future.   I just don’t see supplanting a  .300 hitter that has played stellar defense, for a guy that has struggled.  Maybe he was rebooted in the minors and will put up big power numbers.

Let me throw a name out there at you that has not been mentioned, Carson Kelly.  If Yadier Molina’s back is not better, Kelly could be brought up to catch Marco Gonzales in the second game of the double header.

Whether the Cardinals are buyers or sells at the trade deadline, I can see Kelly up with the big club well before the September call-ups arrive.

If Gonzales pitches well tonight, he could be an integral part of the Cardinal bullpen the rest of the season, as all three lefthanders in the St. Louis pen have struggled.

As of now the Brewers have not mentioned the pitching parings for the whole series.  Craig Counsell is one of the best upcoming managers in the game.  He might still look like a rookie middle infielder in the dugout, but he is very sly.

Counsell is a skipper of a Brewers team that consists of mainstay Ryan Braun, Eric Thames, who is smashing the ball,  and a bunch of hungry kids.  Coming into this season, I thought they were one year away.  I had the Reds pegged as the team that could possibly contend with the Cardinals and Cubs.

I thought the Cubs would run away with the Central, with the Cardinals poised for a wild card spot.  The Cubs starting pitching has been awful, with their bats starting to heat up.  The Reds can score a lot of runs, but their pitching overall has been horrible.  The Pirates so far have been a train wreck, but they have one their last three.

The Cardinals come into play today with a 29-32 record, 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers.  They are one back in the loss column though.  A series sweep by St. Louis, and they would be in first place.  If the Brewers sweep they would be 6 1/2 back, and likely in the cellar of the central.

A Cardinal sweep would mean Mo would go out and get a bat.  A split or one of the teams taking three out of four, the Cardinals would still have a wait and see approach.  If Milwaukee sweeps, the Cardinal front office will be running a lot of K-Mart Blue Light Specials.

It has been a long time since there has been an urgent series like this in June.  Lets hope it is a “happy flight” to Baltimore, with the Cardinals in first place.

 

Filed Under: Opinion, Sports

Cubs select LHP Brendon Little, RHP Alex Lange in first round of the 2017 MLB Draft

June 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Press Release from the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs tonight selected left-handed pitcher Brendon Little out of the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota in Bradenton, Fla., with the 27th overall pick and right-handed pitcher Alex Lange out of Louisiana State University with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Little was recommended by area scout John Koronka, and Lange was recommended by area scout Kevin Ellis.

“We were looking for impact with our first two selections, and not force the issue with the need for pitching. The way the names were falling on the board, we were excited to have our two guys still there,” said Jason McLeod, Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development.

“Brendon Little is a physical left-handed pitcher who we feel is just tapping into his potential now, with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s and what we believe to be one of the best curveballs in the Draft,” McLeod added. “Alex Lange is a proven winner in the best conference in college baseball. He’s taken the ball every Friday night for a top caliber team and he is one of the best competitors in the country.”

Little, 20, averaged 14.03 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in his sophomore season, striking out 133 in 85.1 innings while walking just 33 batters. He went 5-3 in 15 starts with a 2.53 ERA (24 ER/85.1 IP) and surrendered just 67 hits.

The six-foot, two-inch 215-pound Little had seven 10-strikeout games in 15 outings, including 15 strikeouts and no walks, March 29 vs. South Florida State College. That outing began a three-start stretch in which he struck out 35 and walked just two in 20.0 innings from March 29-April 10. He later struck out 13 and walked none, April 21 against Polk State College.

Little is a graduate of Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pa., and was the second-best junior college player available in this draft according to Baseball America.

Lange, 21, is in his junior season at Louisiana State University, pitching to a 2.92 ERA (36 ER/111.0 IP) in 17 starts for the Tigers, who have advanced to the College World Series for the second time in his three seasons. The right-handed pitcher has gone 9-5 with four complete games this season, leading the Southeastern Conference with 134 strikeouts. He started Game One of LSU’s Super Regional vs. Mississippi State this past weekend, striking out 10 batters while allowing three runs in 7.2 innings in the Tigers’ 4-3 victory.

A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Lange has gone 29-9 with a 2.88 ERA (108 ER/337.0 IP) in 51-career starts over three seasons at LSU. He ranks second in program history with 390 strikeouts, just 19 shy of the program record. He has earned numerous awards and recognitions in his three years with the Tigers, including the 2015 National Freshman Pitcher of the Year (Collegiate Baseball), 2016 First-Team All-American and 2017 Second-Team All-American.

Lange graduated from Lee’s Summit West High School where he was named the 2014 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and a Perfect Game All-American.

The 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continues this evening with the second round, in which the Cubs have pick No. 67. The draft continues tomorrow with rounds three-though-10 and concludes Wednesday with rounds 11-through-40.

Filed Under: Sports

IHSA June Board of Directors Meeting Recap

June 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment

The IHSA Board of Directors met for their regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Monday, June 12, 2017, where the Board approved three action items.

ACTION ITEMS
1. The Board approved a new IHSA State Final trophy design for the 2017-18 school year. The IHSA will unveil the new design later this month.

2. The Board approved a recommendation to authorize the enrollment classification cutoffs for all of the IHSA’s sports and activities for the 2017-18 school year. Classifications will be posted on IHSA.org on Wednesday, June 14.

3. The Board approved a recommendation to allow schools earning a trophy in the IHSA Music Sweepstakes to purchase IHSA medallions for their students, in addition to the IHSA pendants currently provided to winners.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Minutes from all Advisory Committees can be viewed by clicking here.

1. The Board approved the consent items, from the Advisory Committees in the following sports & activities: Boys & Girls Basketball, Boys & Girls Bowling, Competitive Cheerleading, Competitive Dance, Boys & Girls Gymnastics, Boys & Girls Soccer, Boys & Girls Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Athletes with Disabilities, Chess, Journalism, Music/Solo Ensemble, Music Organization, Athletic Officials, Scholastic Bowl, Speech-Debate, Speech-Individual Events, Drama & Group Interpretation, Sportsmanship, Sports Medicine, Student Advisory Committee, Athletic Administrators and Activities Director.

Consent items are recommendations that received approval from the sport/activity advisory committee, the Athletic Administrators Advisory Committee and the IHSA staff. Consent items can be viewed by clicking here.

Two non-consent items were approved:
Boys & Girls Basketball
1. Per a change in the NFHS State Association Adoptions that occurred following the meeting of the IHSA Advisory Committee, the Board voted to adopt an expanded coaches box that will begin at the baseline and extend 28 feet toward the center line.

Sports Medicine Advisory Committee
1. The IHSA will discontinue the administration of performance-enhancing drug testing.
 IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:
“The Board had chosen to continue the Performance Enhancing Drug Testing Program the past few years, but ultimately did not appropriate any funding to conduct new testing. After thoughtful deliberation by the Board today regarding the future of the program, the Board and staff felt that it was important for our membership to understand that there would be no new testing in the immediate future. The IHSA will continue to enact its policy on performance-enhancing drugs as we shift our efforts more towards education and awareness. The program was enacted as a deterrent for performance-enhancing drug use, and we felt like it was a success in that regard, while also resulting in three positive tests through five years of testing. We are confident that the national attention on this subject in recent years has helped to better educate and increase awareness for student-athletes, coaches and parents. In addition, we believe that the influx of testing by our schools for various substances has also acted as a deterrent in student-athletes taking illegal and potentially harmful substances. Overall, we feel like the program was a success, and are pleased to know that we can quickly and efficiently reimplement it, should our member schools ever direct our Board to do so.”

Some consent items of note include:
Boys & Girls Basketball
1. The third- and fourth-place awards will be distributed in a ceremony following the state championship game in that class.

Cheerleading
1. The date for designating Coed status for the State Series will be moved back from November 1 to November 15.

Boys & Girls Soccer
1. Starting time window for Saturday State Series matches moved earlier to 10:00 a.m. with the exception of the ACT test date.

Boys & Girls Swimming & Diving
1. The qualifying standards were approved for the 2017-18 school year (click to see standards).

Chess
1. The IHSA Chess State Series will transition to Sectionals in 2017-18, with the inaugural Sectional round being held on Saturday of Week 30 (Jan. 27, 2018).

Journalism
1. Exhibition video category will be conducted at the 2017 State Finals.

APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Rockford (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart). The student’s eligibility was complete per IHSA by-laws 3.050 and its sub-sections.

DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board discusses, but upon which no action is taken. The following is a report of those items from the June 12, 2017, agenda:

1. The Board heard a report from the Associate Executive Director on concussion reporting from Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC) throughout the state during the 2016-17 school year. The IHSA is compiling historic concussion reporting data and will release the report in the near future.

2. As a part of the classification approval process, the Board heard a report on the sports impacted by the success formula for the 2017-18 school year:
Sport                                   School                                                              2017-18SF Class
Boys Baseball                    Arlington Heights (St. Viator)                      4A
Boys Basketball                Belleville (Althoff Catholic)                          4A
Boys Basketball                Westchester (St. Joseph)                             4A
Girls Basketball                 Bloomington (Central Catholic)                  3A
Girls Basketball                 Lombard (Montini)                                        4A
Girls Cross Country          Urbana (University)                                       2A
Boys Football                    LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy)         6A
Boys Football                    Lombard (Montini)                                        6A
Boys Football                    Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin)              6A
Girls Softball                      Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin)              4A
Scholastic Bowl                 Urbana (University)                                       2A
Boys Soccer                       Elmhurst (Timothy Christian)                      2A
Boys Soccer                       Waterloo (Gibault Catholic)                        2A
Boys Soccer                       Westchester (St. Joseph)                             2A
Girls Soccer                        West Chicago (Wheaton Academy)          2A
Girls Volleyball                  Bloomington (Central Catholic)                  3A
Girls Volleyball                  Joliet (Catholic Academy)                            4A
Girls Volleyball                  Wheaton (St. Francis)                                  4A
Girls Volleyball                  Woodstock (Marian)                                     4A
Boys Wrestling                 Lombard (Montini)                                        3A

3. The Executive Director recognized the 2017 IHSA Distinguished Service Award recipients, who will be honored at a banquet on June 12, 2017:
Tricia Betthauser
Daniel Cliffe
Chad Dauphin
Dr. Richard Everett
Jim Gumz
Dennis Heskett
Kevin Hussey
Mark Kreiter
Jerry McDaniels
Paul Schmidt
Ross Truemper
Jim Williams

4. The Board heard an update from the Executive Director on the 2017 NFHS Summer Meeting.

5. The Board held a discussion on Wrestling Classification breakdowns as it relates to Policy 17C.

6. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the first annual 5K IHSA Road Race, which was held on June 3, 2017 at Heartland Community College in Normal.

7. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the IHSA being named the Outstanding Organization of the Year by Special Olympics Illinois.

8. The Executive Director, Board of Directors and staff recognized Board President Dr. Chuck Nagel of East Peoria High School, who retired at the conclusion of the 2016-17 school year and was attending his final IHSA Board Meeting.

 

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals look better after shaking up the roster and coaches — but not good enough

June 12, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.bnd.com/sports/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cheap-seats-blog/article155647719.html

BELLEVILLE, IL – (Scott Wuerz – Belleville News-Democrat.  Please click on the link above to read the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

The St. Louis Cardinals have put together a mild winning streak, sweeping the hapless Philadelphia Phillies at home after a winless road trip against the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs.

But that doesn’t mean all is well in Redbirds land.

Jhonny Peralta may be gone in effort to add new life and fresh legs to the roster and third base coach Chris Maloney took the fall for the Cardinals’ bad baserunning. But there are still a lot of rough edges for this team to clean up. Many of them were apparent Sunday.

Filed Under: Sports

Miners Drop Heartbreaker In Extras To Joliet

June 12, 2017 By Leave a Comment

MARION, IL –  The Southern Illinois Miners got two home runs on Sunday from Kurt Wertz, Jr. and a game-tying, two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth by Ryan Lashley, but Rock Shoulders’ two-run home run in the tenth inning gave the Joliet Slammers an 8-6, extra-inning win at Rent One Park to complete a series sweep.

Miners DH Kurt Wertz, Jr., who homered twice in last nights game

The Miners grabbed an early advantage in the first inning as Lashley hit an RBI single following a walk by Craig Massey and a single by Nolan Earley. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, a wild pitch by Shane Bryant brought home Earley and made it 2-0. Joliet would score four runs in the next two innings, three of which were unearned thanks to three Miners errors. With the score 4-2, Wertz clubbed a home run over the right field wall leading off the bottom of the fourth for his first hit of the year after being activated from the injured list on Sunday.

Ridge Hoopii-Haslam got that run back leading off the next inning with a solo shot of his own to make the score 5-3, and the Slammers would go ahead 6-3 on an RBI single by Chaz Meadows with two outs in the sixth inning. Wertz again led off the bottom half of the frame with a solo home run, this time to left field, to make the score 6-4. The ballgame then stayed 6-4 through the late innings as neither team could score off the other’s bullpen. Southern Illinois loaded the bases with none out in the eighth, but three straight strikeouts by Danny Concepcion held them off the board.

In the ninth, Earley tripled with one out down the right field line, setting up Lashley, who homered to left field off Joliet closer Confesor Lara to tie the game at 6-6. That sent the game to extra innings, and in the tenth, after a diving catch by Lindley in right-center field robbed Juan Silva for the first out, Edwin Gomez doubled and went to third on a flyout. With two down in the inning, Shoulders then hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to right field to give the Slammers the lead, and eventually the win when Southern Illinois got the tying run on base in the bottom half of the inning with nobody out, but failed to score.

Lashley went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Wertz, Massey and Earley had two hits apiece, with Wertz homering twice in the game, but it was not enough as the visiting Slammers swept the weekend series in Marion. Southern Illinois will take the field next on Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m. for a doubleheader against the Traverse City Beach Bums. Ethan Gibbons and a starter to be named will pitch for the Miners while Reinaldo Lopez and Augie Gallardo will toe the rubber for Traverse City.

Box Score

Batting Stats

Joliet
# Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
9 Silva, J RF 4 1 0 0 1 0 .290
47 Gomez, E DH 4 2 2 0 0 0 .320
8 Zardon, D 3B 5 1 1 1 0 1 .347
5 Shoulders, R 1B 5 1 2 2 0 2 .253
6 Rodriguez, M 2B 3 1 1 1 1 0 .287
2 Hoopii-Haslam, R CF 4 2 1 1 0 1 .250
17 Rodriguez, A LF 4 0 0 1 0 0 .264
4 Meadows, C SS 4 0 2 1 0 0 .283
15 Patterson, C C 3 0 1 0 1 0 .095
36 8 10 7 3 4

Batting
2B: E.Gomez (5). HR: R.Shoulders (6), R.Hoopii-Haslam (5).
RBI: D.Zardon (10), R.Shoulders 2 (21), M.Rodriguez (19), R.Hoopii-Haslam (15), A.Rodriguez (11), C.Meadows (7). SF: M.Rodriguez (1). CS: J.Silva (4). SB: J.Silva (6), R.Hoopii-Haslam (5).
Team LOB: 3.

Fielding A: D.Zardon (21), M.Rodriguez 3 (71), C.Meadows (36). PO: J.Silva 6 (43), R.Shoulders 8 (210), M.Rodriguez (47), R.Hoopii-Haslam 4 (60), A.Rodriguez 2 (49), C.Patterson 9 (39).
TC: J.Silva 6 (45), D.Zardon (29), R.Shoulders 8 (223), M.Rodriguez 4 (122), R.Hoopii-Haslam 4 (94), A.Rodriguez 2 (51), C.Meadows (56), C.Patterson 9 (45).

S Illinois
# Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
23 Massey, C 2B 5 1 2 0 1 1 .290
15 Earley, N RF 4 2 2 0 1 0 .268
19 Lashley, R 3B 5 1 2 3 0 0 .229
27 Flores, M LF 4 0 0 0 1 0 .242
25 Martin, W 1B 3 0 1 0 0 1 .289
11   McKeithan, J PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .178
7   Moore, B C 1 0 0 0 0 1 .190
8 Wertz Jr., K DH 3 2 2 2 2 0 .667
26 Plant, C SS 5 0 1 0 0 1 .385
6 Moore, R C 3 0 0 0 0 1 .000
30   Germaine, B 1B
PH		 2 0 0 0 0 2 .309
2 Lindley, L CF 5 0 0 0 0 2 .306
40 6 10 5 5 9

Batting
3B: C.Massey (2), N.Earley (2).  HP: W.Martin (1). HR: R.Lashley (3), K.Wertz Jr. 2 (2).
RBI: R.Lashley 3 (19), K.Wertz Jr. 2 (2).
Team LOB: 10.

Fielding  A: C.Massey 6 (60), R.Lashley (31), W.Martin 2 (2), C.Plant 3 (26), R.Moore 2 (6), N.Palacios (4), C.Washington (1). CS: R.Moore (1). DP: 2 (C. Plant(SS) – W. Martin(1B),N. Palacios(P) – C. Massey(2B) – W. Martin(1B)).  E: M.Flores (1), W.Martin (1), C.Plant (2), R.Moore (1). PO: C.Massey 3 (43), N.Earley (42), R.Lashley (10), M.Flores (19), W.Martin 9 (9), C.Plant 2 (13), R.Moore 4 (36), B.Germaine 2 (18), L.Lindley 6 (70), C.Sessions (3). SBA: R.Moore 3 (17). TC: C.Massey 9 (104), N.Earley (45), R.Lashley 2 (47), M.Flores 2 (20), W.Martin 12 (12), C.Plant 6 (41), R.Moore 7 (43), B.Germaine 2 (20), L.Lindley 6 (71), C.Sessions (8), N.Palacios (5), C.Washington (1).

Pitching Stats

Joliet
# Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA
28 Bryant, S 7.0 6 4 4 2 3 4.89
20 McKenna, B 0.0 1 0 0 2 0 2.16
32 Concepcion, D 1.1 1 1 1 0 3 8.00
46   Lara, C 0.2 1 1 1 0 1 3.75
21   Russ, G 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 4.15
10 10 6 6 5 9

Pitching
BF: S.Bryant 30, B.McKenna 3, D.Concepcion 5, C.Lara 3, G.Russ 5.
P-S: S.Bryant 114-73, B.McKenna 16-6, D.Concepcion 16-12, C.Lara 8-5, G.Russ 23-13.
WP: S.Bryant (1).

S Illinois
# Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA
18 Sessions, C 3.1 7 5 2 0 0 4.02
1 Palacios, N 2.2 1 1 1 2 1 5.06
16 Washington, C 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 0.00
40 Losing Pitcher  Tinius, K 1.2 1 1 1 0 0 2.37
28 Werner, J 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 3.09
10 10 8 5 3 4
S Illinois
# Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA
18 Sessions, C 3.1 7 5 2 0 0 4.02
1 Palacios, N 2.2 1 1 1 2 1 5.06
16 Washington, C 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 0.00
40 Losing Pitcher  Tinius, K 1.2 1 1 1 0 0 2.37
28 Werner, J 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 3.09
10 10 8 5 3 4
Pitching
BF: C.Sessions 17, N.Palacios 10, C.Washington 6, K.Tinius 6, J.Werner 2.
P-S: C.Sessions 73-42, N.Palacios 40-23, C.Washington 18-13, K.Tinius 20-15, J.Werner 6-5.
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Joliet 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 8 10 0
S Illinois 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 6 10 4

My apologies for the layout of the Miners pitching line. -sd

Filed Under: Slider, Sports

Miners Stumble Against Slammers In Saturday Defeat

June 12, 2017 By Leave a Comment

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

Joliet
# Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
17 Rodriguez, A LF 6 1 2 0 0 0 .277
9 Silva, J RF 6 0 0 0 0 1 .302
8 Zardon, D 3B 5 3 4 2 0 0 .364
5 Shoulders, R 1B 5 1 2 1 0 0 .245
6 Rodriguez, M 2B 5 3 3 2 0 0 .286
47 Gomez, E DH 4 1 1 0 1 1 .313
2 Hoopii-Haslam, R CF 2 0 1 1 2 0 .250
4 Meadows, C SS 4 0 2 2 0 1 .262
15 Patterson, C C 4 0 1 1 1 1 .056
41 9 16 9 4 4

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

Joliet
# Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA
38 Ortiz, J 4.2 11 7 6 0 1 7.45
18   Janisse, S 3.1 3 0 0 0 3 3.52
46   Lara, C 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 3.18
9 15 7 6 0 4

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 Losing Pitcher  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

 

Filed Under: Sports

Miners Rally, But Cannot Complete Comeback In Loss To Joliet

June 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

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

Joliet
# Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
47 Gomez, E LF 3 2 2 0 0 1 .316
17   Rodriguez, A LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273
9 Silva, J RF 4 2 2 3 0 0 .322
8 Zardon, D 3B 3 0 0 0 1 0 .308
5 Shoulders, R 1B 3 1 1 1 1 0 .236
6 Rodriguez, M 2B 3 0 2 0 1 0 .269
2 Hoopii-Haslam, R CF 4 1 1 1 0 0 .244
27 Needam, C DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 .255
15 Patterson, C C 3 0 0 0 1 2 .000
4 Meadows, C SS 4 1 1 0 0 1 .237
31 7 9 5 5 5

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 Losing Pitcher  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
Filed Under: Sports
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