By: Braeden Jones
SCHAUMBURG, IL – In a game that didn’t have much action until the 8th inning, the Joliet Slammers (26-33) pulled off a 4-run comeback that was quickly shut down by the Schaumburg Boomers (28-31), who won 5-4 on Sunday at Wintrust Field.
For the first time in this series, the Boomers struck first in the bottom of the 3rd inning. In what was already the fourth walk of the game, Cole Smith would lead off the half-inning getting a free pass to first base. Kyle Fitzgerald would get a single to advance Smith to second, which would set up Smith in scoring position. And score he would thanks to an RBI single from Kellum Clark. That started off the scoring with Schaumburg in the lead at 1-0.
It would be a while until there was another score in the game, but it once again came off the batting from the Boomers. Fitzgerald would come back up to the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning and hit a solo shot to double the score for his team. That left the home team in the lead, now with a 2-0 score.
The Slammers wouldn’t go down easily, however. Two singles from Blake Berry and Jackson Valera along with a walk on Cam Suto would load the bases in the top of the 8th with one out. Peyton Carr would put a ball in play, and after the Boomers forced Suto out running to second, an error on the throw to first base broke a double play and let Carr safely make it on base. Not only did that keep the inning alive, but Berry and Kadon Morton (who was pinch running for Valera) had come home to score during that missed double play. That tied the game with the first two runs the Slammers had gained, but Joliet wanted more. Immediately following that scoring play, Patrick Ward gave his team another one with a 2-run homer, scoring himself and Carr. From being down 2-0 to being ahead 4-2, the visiting team had a late push to take the lead.
That didn’t seem to faze the home team, as the Boomers gave their fans a lot to cheer about in the bottom of the 8th inning. After Christian Fedko was walked and Will Prater hit a single, Jeff Nicol got his first hit of the series in a 3-run shot that silenced the Slammers. That home run would also be the last hit of the day for either team, meaning Schaumburg had clutched out the series win in a 5-4 nailbiter.
In a game that just barely didn’t go their way, the Slammers will get Monday off before playing the Brockton Rox at Slammers Stadium starting on Tuesday. After surviving a late-game scare, the Boomers will look to keep the winning going when they play a rare Monday game at home against the Windy City ThunderBolts before the rest of the series is played away.
