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(Press Release)
The Southern Illinois Miners scored three runs in the third inning, capped off by a two-run homer to left by Chris Burke, and Tyler Lavigne (2-0) was dominant on the mound as the Miners beat the Lake Erie Crushers 4-0 on Sunday night to take the series two games to one at Rent One Park.
In the big third inning, Tyler Booth singled to right to lead off the inning, and moved to third when the ball was misplayed by the right fielder in the corner. After Jon Eisen was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch, Kyle Greishaber delivered an RBI groundout to make it 1-0 Miners.
After another groundout kept Eisen put at second, Burke came to the plate and smashed a first-pitch hanging breaking ball over the fence in left for his second homer of the season, and a 3-0 Southern Illinois lead. The Miners also tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI triple to center field by Booth, scoring Ryan Cavan all the way from first base.
But the story of the night was Lavigne, who delivered a gem of a performance, pitching seven and one-third shutout innings and allowing just two hits and two walks while fanning six to earn the win. The right-hander retired eight Crushers hitters in a row twice in his outing, including the final eight that he faced.
Booth finished 2-for-3 out of the ninth position for the Miners, adding a run scored and an RBI plus a triple, while Burke ended up 1-for-4 with his home run. Steve Marino also added a 2-for-3 performance as the Miners improved to 3-6 with the win, dropping the Crushers to 5-4 with the series-clinching win.
The Miners will now have Memorial Day off before traveling up to Windy City for a three-game series against the 6-3 Thunderbolts. Matt Bywater will get the start in game one, opposed by Victor Larez. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
