Boomers reward home crowd with win

The Schaumburg Boomers used a solo homer from Alexi Colon in the bottom of the eighth to notch a 5-4 win before a season-high crowd in the opener of an Independence Day weekend series with the Evansville Otters.

Colon's homer came leading off the eighth against reliever Connor Little after the Boomers failed to hold a 4-0 lead in the contest. Schaumburg raced to an early 3-0 edge with 3 first inning runs. Kyle Ruchim drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Jordan Dean, and Justin Vasquez notched a 2-run single in the frame. Evansville chipped away, using a solo homer in the fourth to gnaw within 4-1. Shayne Houck tied the game with a 2-run homer in the top of the eighth.

Eddie Cody retired 11 straight from the fourth through the eighth and worked 7.2 innings, but did not factor in the decision. Seven of Cody's 9 starts have gone at least seven innings. The righty struck out 3 in a no-decision. Brandon Bargas retired all 3 batters faced to collect the win while Clark Labitan picked up the final out for his 4th save. Colon finished with 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI in addition to a sliding catch for the final out. Craig Massey finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while Vasquez also logged a pair of hits.