By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters split a doubleheader with the Schaumburg Boomers, winning the opener 5-3 and dropping the nightcap 2-1 on Thursday night at the Corn Crib.
The Boomers took an early lead in the opener with a two-out walk to Jack Cockrum followed by a two-run homer to left by Nick Oberg.
The CornBelters countered in their second frame with RBI singles from Mitch Elliott and Justin Fletcher plus a two-run base hit by Aaron Dudley to take a 4-2 lead.
Schaumburg mounted another two-out rally in the next half-inning with a base hit from Griff Gordon to slice the deficit to 4-3. Santiago Chirino countered that for the Belters with a line drive home run to lead off the fifth inning to build the lead back to 5-3.
Horatio Acosta (5-2) worked five innings for the win, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout. Gunnar Kines (3-4) took the loss, also working five innings with five runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Race Parmenter worked the final frame for his fifth save.
In the nightcap, the Boomers broke through first in the fifth inning with another two-out rally capped by a two-run triple by Zack Weigel.
The CornBelters answered in the sixth when Fletcher doubled by placing a drive on the right field chalk, went to third on a single and scored on a Dudley sacrifice fly to left on a sliding catch to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Seth Webster (5-6) took the nightcap victory, working six innings of four-hit ball with one run, one walk and three strikeouts. Mike Elwood (1-1) took the loss with five innings, giving up two runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Dexter Price hurled the final frame for his seventh save.
The series and homestand conclude Thursday with a 6:35 p.m. contest as right-hander Charlie Gillies (1-1, 2.89 ERA) starts for the Belters against Schaumburg right-hander Scott Schultz (4-2, 5.23). Broadcast time on WJBC.com is 6:20.
