Boomers drop series opener 9-5

The Schaumburg Boomers saw a 10-game home winning streak come to an end Monday night in Game 1 of the Frontier League divisional series with a 9-5 loss to the Southern Illinois Miners.

Southern Illinois took the lead two batters into the game and never trailed. The Miners scored single runs in the first, second, fourth, and sixth to build a 4-0 lead.

Southern Illinois turned 3 double plays behind starter Matt Bywater, the 2014 Frontier League Pitcher of the Year. He worked 7 shutout innings.

The Miners added 3 runs in the seventh and 2 in the eighth for a 9-0 lead.

Schaumburg rallied late, placing the tying run on deck in the ninth and forcing the Miners to use their closer.

The Boomers scored 5 runs in the eighth. Mark Nelson lifted a sacrifice fly before Gerard Hall connected on a grand slam. Schaumburg placed runners on base in every inning but could not break through.

Joe De Pinto had 3 hits in the loss, Justin Vasquez and Tony Delmonico collecting 2 apiece. Bobby Martin took away a homer with a leaping grab in the sixth.

Charle Rosario was saddled with the loss, allowing just 2 earned runs in 5⅔ innings.

Schaumburg (61-35, 1-1) needs a pair of wins at Southern Illinois to keep the title defense alive. Southern Illinois leads the best-of-three series 1-0 and hosts Game 2 on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.