By: Ryan Paris
JOLIET, IL – It felt like the only times the Slammers slowed down today were when they drew walks.
In the first inning, when Braylin Marine ripped a triple to deep center field, the action on the basepaths looked like something out of the mid inning animal race. Liam McArthur at second took a moment to gauge the ball while Ian Battipaglia at first took off running immediately. As the pair rounded the bases, Battipaglia closed in on McArthur and the two crossed home within a half second of each other.
In the second inning, it was deja vu. With two runners on base, Jose Contreras lofted a ball that dropped just in front of a diving Heladio Moreno. Not settling for a standup double, Contreras continued to fly past the bag and hustled into third, giving the Slammers their second triple in as many innings.
The next Slammer to hit mach one was Blake Berry, as he made a beeline to snag a TJ Reeves fly ball that would have scored a Yalls run.
On the mound, CJ Blowers gave Joliet maximum mileage out of his arm, getting through four innings on a limited pitch count.
Jordan Powell took over for Blowers and allowed a leadoff single and a walk. He got two outs for the price of one run, but then walked three straight hitters to bring in a second Y’alls’ baserunner.
When the Slammers offense hit neutral, they turned to the defense to make plays. Ian Battipaglia caught a Tyler Shaneyfelt pop up and fired a rocket over to first to catch TJ Reeves for the double play.
Joliet added two more runs when both Antonio Valdez and Chris Davis raced home on wild pitches, and the score finished 7-3 Slammers.
After seven losses in a row dating back to the start of the last road trip, these two wins in Joliet have done a lot of good for a club in need. Joliet is now one game back of a playoff spot.
The Slammers begin a series against the first place Gateway Grizzlies on Tuesday, but the next time we’ll see them at home will be on July 18th vs the Windy City Thunderbolts.
For information on season tickets, premium suites or group outings, please visit the Slammers’ official website at www.jolietslammers.com.
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The Joliet Slammers play in downtown Joliet, Illinois, and are members of the professional, independent Frontier League. The Frontier League is the largest MLB Partner League with 16 teams spanning from the Mississippi River to the East Coast. Visit the Slammers online atwww.jolietslammers.com or call the ticket office at 815-722-2287 for more information! Don’t forget to “Like” the Slammers on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/jolietslammers, follow them on Instagram at @jolietslammersofficial or follow them on Twitter at @jolietslammers!
This game recap was written by Ryan Paris.