CornBelters fall to Miners in back-and-forth contest

Posted on August 10, 2016

By WJBC Staff

MARION – The Normal CornBelters tied a back-and-forth game in the fifth inning but then failed to put another runner on base in a 4-3 loss to the Southern Illinois Miners on Tuesday night at Rent One Park.

The Miners tallied in their first time up with two hits and a walk, with a sharp ground ball by Steve Marino accounting for the run when it was knocked down at third but no play was possible.

The CornBelters countered in the second inning with four hits and two runs scoring on a Ty Morris fielder’s choice and a Santiago Chirino base hit for a 2-1 lead.

Southern Illinois regained the lead in the third inning at 3-2 with a two-run broken-bat bloop double just inside the right field line by Marino.

Chirino tied the contest at 3-3 in the fifth with a solo home run to left field. The Miners broke the tie with a Willi Martin RBI double to the deep left center gap with one out in the sixth inning.

The Belters mustered no offense after the Chirino homer as the next 14 Normal hitters were retired to end their attack.

Rick Teasley (6-3) threw six innings for the victory, giving up three earned runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Charlie Gillies (4-2) also worked six innings and took the loss, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Adam Lopez pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save.

The series continues Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. in Marion as right-hander Mike Schweiss (7-4, 2.76 ERA) starts on the mound for the CornBelters while the Miners hand the ball to righty Brooks Trujillo (2-3, 4.80). The game can be heard live on WJBC.com beginning at 6:50.

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