Boomers rally for 4-3 win

The Schaumburg Boomers scored twice in the eighth inning to rally past the visiting Rockford Aviators 4-3 on Saturday night.

Rockford scored a pair of runs in the first inning against Schaumburg starter Cal Bowling. The Boomers evened the game with a pair of solo homers from Joe De Pinto and Tony Delmonico. Rockford took a 3-2 lead with an unearned run in the fourth. Delmonico played hero in the bottom of the eighth, singling home 2 runs with the bases loaded to account for the final.

Bowling worked 5 innings in a no-decision, allowing just a pair of earned runs. Anthony Smith earned the win with 1⅓ innings of relief, improving to 5-2. Clark Labitan finished the win for his second save. Delmonico drove home 3 runs and finished with a pair of hits. De Pinto and Gerard Hall also had 2 hits. Alexi Colon made a leaping grab at the wall in the fifth.

Kernels 3, Cougars 2:

Kane County's 3-2 loss to the host Cedar Rapids Kernels was the third straight game decided by 1 run between two of the top teams in the Western Division.

The Cougars (28-20, 73-45) picked up momentum late in the game but stranded the tying run at second as the Kernels (28-20, 59-59) moved back into a tie for first place.

All of Cedar Rapids' runs came on the longball as Logan Wade and Max Murphy took Tyler Ihrig (1-1) deep. The Cougars' left-hander suffered the loss in his second outing with the team despite tossing a quality start.

Red Stars 2, FC Kansas City 1:

The host Chicago Red Stars got a must win as they defeated FC Kansas City to keep their playoff hopes alive for one of the final slots. The Red Stars' goals were scored by Melissa Tancredi and Christen Press.