Big 7th inning earns CornBelters victory over Slammers

Posted on June 8, 2017

By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters exploded in the seventh inning to take the lead for an 8-5 win over the Joliet Slammers on Wednesday night at the Corn Crib.

The game’s first hitter, Joliet’s Edwin Gomez, homered just over the left field fence to give the guests the early 1-0 lead.

The Slammers added to the advantage when Juan Silva led off the fourth inning with a single, moved to second on a hit batsman and third on a sacrifice, then scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center field by Ridge Hoopii-Haslam.

The CornBelters mounted a two-out rally in their fourth as Justin Fletcher doubled and came home on a single up the middle by Craig Lepre to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Slammers answered in the fifth inning, scoring a lead-off double by C.J. Needam with a two-out single up the middle by Danny Zardon.

The Belters rallied in the seventh frame by scoring seven times to grab an 8-3 lead. Normal loaded the bases with nobody out and scored two-run doubles by Santiago Chirino and Aaron Dudley, an RBI double by Miguel Torres, a throwing error and a sacrifice fly by Justin Fletcher.

The Slammers didn’t go down without a fight, loading the bases in the ninth inning and scoring on a hit batsman and a walk.

Nigel Nootbaar (2-1) earned the win in relief. Tasker Strobel (1-1) took the loss.

The CornBelters begin a six-game road trip with a single game at Joliet on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. before a weekend series at Schaumburg and a return to Joliet next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Belters return home next Thursday to start a seven-game homestand.

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