By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Beach Bums got a runner on base in the opening frame with a walk to Ryan Bottger, who scored from first on a double from Steven Patterson.
The Belters were quick to answer in the first with a leadoff single from Mitch Elliott, followed by a walk to Aaron Dudley. A single from Jesus Solorzano brought Elliott in and tied the game at 1-1.
The Belter offense continued in the second with a single from Mike Skoller. Matt Chavarria followed it up with a single, and a throwing error scored Skoller and put Chavarria on third. Another single from Santiago Chirino brought in Chavarria and put the Belters up 3-1.
The Beach Bums were unable to respond until the fourth, when Christian Santisteban hit a two-out single. Jeff DeBlieux followed that up with a single, and Marcos Derkes singled to score Santisteban. A wild pitch from starting pitcher Charlie Gillies scored DeBlieux and tied the game at 3-3.
The score would remain tied until the bottom of the ninth. Chavarria singled and was advanced to second on a bunt from Elliot. After Dudley reached first on an intentional walk, Solorzano singled to drive in Chavarria and give the Belters the walk-off win.
The winning pitcher was Vince Apicella (1-1), who went five innings and gave up one hit and struck out eight. The loss went to James Ball (0-3), who pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, one walk and one run.
The CornBelters go on the road to Schaumburg to take on the Boomers in a three-game series. The series begins Friday with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Broadcast time on WJBC.com is 6:20. They return home Tuesday for a six-game home stand before the All-Star break.
