(Press Release)
The Southern Illinois Miners got seven innings from starter Matt Bywater and just enough offense against the Normal CornBelters to win 5-4 on Sunday night, their fifth straight victory in a sweep the three-game weekend series at Rent One Park.
Bywater (1-0) threw seven innings in the game, striking out a Miners season-high seven batters and walking only one to earn his first victory of the season.
The offense backed him up early. Jon Eisen led off with a walk and later scored on Chris Burke’s two-out single to right for a 1-0 Miners lead. After Normal starter Michael Schweiss had to leave the game with an injury, the Miners loaded the bases on walks in the third against reliever Joe Rosan. An RBI fielder’s choice by Steve Marino and a wild pitch brought home two more runs to make the score 3-0 Miners.
Bywater surrendered four straight hits in the fifth inning, including a home run, as Normal tied the game on an RBI groundout from Mark Micowski. But in the bottom of the inning, Frank Martinez smacked a line-drive home run to left as Southern Illinois took a 4-3 lead.
Normal tied the game again in the seventh against Bywater and the Miners with one more run, but once again, Southern Illinois took one swing to regain the lead. Burke drove his third home run of the season down the left field line for the final margin of victory.
Britt Robertshaw relieved Bywater and pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season. Burke went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the win, which was number 398 for the Miners as a franchise. Southern Illinois has now won five straight games, and six of seven overall.
The Miners will now host the Joliet Slammers for a series beginning on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Miguel Ramirez will throw for the Miners, with Blair Walters starting for Joliet.
The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2012 Frontier League Champions and have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception. They also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, please contact the Rent One Park box office at 618-998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.
