Boomers homer to doubleheader sweep

WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Schaumburg Boomers opened a six-game road trip with a doubleheader sweep of the Washington Wild Things on Wednesday night with 8-4 and 3-1 victories, improving to 30 games over the .500 mark.

The Boomers scored six runs in the top of the seventh in the opener against Washington's All-Star closer to grab the opener. Trailing 3-2 entering the inning, Kyle Ruchim, Zack Weigel and David Harris strung together three straight hits to start the rally. John Holland drove home a run by reaching on an error to tie the game. Newcomer Rock Shoulders coaxed a bases-loaded walk to force home the go-ahead run before Sean Godfrey left no doubt with a grand slam, making the score 8-3.

Schaumburg finished with 13 hits in the opener including six in the seventh. Ruchim finished 4-for-5 in his fifth consecutive multihit performance. Weigel notched three hits. Kyle Westwood picked up the win in relief, moving to 2-0 on the year.

The second contest saw Schaumburg connect on back-to-back homers to build a 3-0 first inning advantage. Weigel drilled his seventh of the season to score Ruchim and put the Boomers on the board before Harris followed with his 12th of the year. The runs were more than enough for Joe Hauser, who collected his first win as a starter by working five innings. Evan Boyd became the seventh different pitcher to save a game for the Boomers this year by striking out two in the seventh. The team has swept three doubleheaders this year.

The Boomers (52-22) own the best record in the league and hold a commanding lead in the East Division while closing in on a playoff berth. The team has won six in a row and 11 of the last 12 and will aim for a series sweep at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday with RHP Brandon Quintero (3-1, 1.80) on the hill against All-Star RHP Chase Cunningham (8-1, 3.17).