By: Braeden Jones
SCHAUMBURG, IL – On a night where both the light and dark side saw good hits, the Schaumburg Boomers (33-31) only needed to score in three innings to win over the Joliet Slammers (28-35) with a score of 11-6 on Friday.
The Slammers got the scoring started in this game when the top of the 3rd inning rolled around. Ian Battipaglia would start things off with a double before a bunt from Tyler Cerny would move Battipaglia to third base and put Cerny on first. Blake Berry would follow that up with an RBI single to score Battipaglia, and a sacrifice fly out from Cam Suto would score Cerny. That started Joliet with the lead in this game at a 2-0 score.
The Boomers would respond shortly after in the bottom of the 4th. Kellum Clark would get on with a double before Banks Tolley came up to the batter’s box and delivered a 2-run shot to tie up this ballgame.
A tie was not enough for Schaumburg as they came into the bottom of the 5th with victory on their mind. After the Slammers turned two outs to start this half-inning, a close call at first base kept Cole Turney safe for a single. The Boomers turned their survival into a scoring drive once Kyle Fitzgerald got a single of his own. Anthony Calarco hit a 2-RBI double to score both Turney and Fitzgerald, and after a walk on Clark, Tolley got a 2-RBI double of his own. That scored Calarco and Clark and now put the home team in the lead at 6-2.
The Slammers were quick to respond in the top of the 6th inning. After Jackson Beaman hit a double and Patrick Ward was walked, Brandon Heidal would score both of them with a 2-RBI double. While Joliet was still a few runs behind, they were now a bit closer at 6-4.
That was too close for comfort for the Boomers. For the second straight time (this time in the bottom of the 6th inning), Schaumburg went through all nine of their batters for some big scoring. Cole Smith started off this half-inning with a double, and Alec Craig was walked right after. Turney would get himself an RBI double to score Smith, and a 2-RBI single from Fitzgerald scored Craig and Turney. The Boomers had one more scoring play while they had the momentum, and it was a 2-run homer from Calarco to score himself and Fitzgerald. All that scoring now put Schaumburg up 11-4.
The Slammers had a bit more scoring in them in the top of the 8th inning. Beaman would start it off by being walked, and a Ward double would move Beaman to third base. A sacrifice ground out from Chris Davis would score Beaman, and a balk by the Boomers would let Ward walk home from third base. That was all the scoring that this game had to offer, meaning the Boomers took home the 11-6 victory.
With their two-game winning streak now broken, Joliet will look for revenge when they are back in Wintrust Field against Schaumburg on Saturday. Now sitting a few games ahead in first place in the West Division and holding a six-game winning streak, the Boomers will look to keep winning when they play the Slammers again on Saturday.
