By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters fell in a slugfest 13-9 to the Southern Illinois Miners on Sunday at the Corn Crib.
The Miners put up a big inning in their first opportunity by loading the bases on a wild pitch on a strikeout and two singles followed by a walk to Alex DeLeon and a two-run single by Willi Martin for a 3-0 advantage before the Belters came to the plate.
The CornBelters also struck in their first inning with three long balls as Ty Morris led off with a home run just inside the right field pole, followed by back-to-back homers by Aaron Dudley to straightaway center and Dillon Haupt just over the wall off the left fielder’s glove to tie the contest at 3-3. The Belters took the lead later in the frame as Nolan Meadows scored on a wild pitch.
The Belters pushed their lead to 5-3 in the second inning as Morris led off with a single, stole second and scored on a seeing-eye single up the middle by Santiago Chirino.
The Miners answered in the third by drawing a pair of one-out walks and scoring one on a sinking line drive base hit by Aaron Gates to cut their deficit to 5-4. A fielder’s choice by Shane Kennedy later in the inning evened the score at 5-5 and a double by Craig Massey scored Kennedy for a 6-5 Miners lead.
A homer to center by Martin in the fourth increased the guests’ advantage to 7-5, and a grand slam by Nolan Earley in the fifth pushed the Southern Illinois lead to 11-5. Kennedy doubled in two more runs in the sixth inning for a 13-5 advantage.
The Belters rallied in the sixth on a grand slam to right by Dudley to cut the deficit to 13-9 after the bases became loaded with three walks.
Nick Palacios (4-0) earned the win with two and two-thirds innings of relief, surrendering one earned run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Mike Schweiss (7-7) took the loss, giving up six earned runs in his two and one-third innings on five hits with six walks and four strikeouts.
After taking Monday off, the CornBelters embark on their final road trip of the regular season on Tuesday at Evansville. The Belters return home on August 30 for the final six-game home stand.
