The Peoria Chiefs pounded out 17 hits and were able to hold off a late rally to defeat the Beloit Snappers 11-10 on Tuesday.
Beloit took an early lead in the contest as a single up the middle gave them a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Snappers were able to tack on two more runs off the bat of Will Banfield, giving them a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
The Chiefs got two runs back in the top of the fourth as Moises Castillo hit a liner to left field, driving home Brendan Donovan and Francisco Hernandez.
Peoria would ride the momentum of their two-run fourth inning as they scored five times in the fifth. Tyler Reichenborn got things started for the Chiefs, when he hit an RBI double to left field, driving home Donovan to tie the game. Chandler Redmond gave Peoria a 5-3 lead with his third double of the year. Castillo kept the doubles streak alive as he extended the Chiefs lead and scored Redmond from second. Jhon Torres capped off the inning with an RBI single, giving the Chiefs a 7-3 lead after the fifth inning.
The bats kept going for Peoria in the sixth inning as Pedro Pages and Brady Whalen hit back-to-back home runs, increasing the lead to 9-3. Two batters later, Hernandez joined the home run party with his second of the year. When all said and done, the Chiefs hit three homers in the span of four batters.
The Snappers would not bow down though as they got three runs back in the bottom half of the inning, cutting into the Chiefs lead 10-6.
Peoria added one more run in the top half of the seventh as Pages grounded out to third, ultimately scoring Malcom Nunez. Nunez posted four hits in the contest, the first Chief to record a four-hit game in 2021. As a team, the Chiefs posted a season-high for hits, doubles and home runs.
The Snappers would cut the deficit to 11-10 in the ninth but Evan Sisk got Will Banfield to ground out to end the contest. Connor Lunn earned his first career professional win. The right-hander allowed three runs over five innings of work.
The Chiefs and Snappers will face off again tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. Mac Lardner will start for the Chiefs. Due to the absence of an MiLB.TV stream, there will not be a radio broadcast for this series.
