Just four hits, but Boomers beat Lake Erie

The Schaumburg Boomers managed just four hits, but all four went for extras bases as the team claimed a series win over the Lake Erie Crushers to capture the rubber game Sunday at Wintrust Field by a 5-3 score.

A pair of lefties faced off on the mound and the Boomers were able to strike first in the bottom of the third. Felix Aberouette led off the inning with a walk and scored on the first extra-base hit, a double from Alec Craig. Brett Milazzo followed with a walk and the runners executed a double steal to enable Seth Gray to make the score 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. Chase Dawson followed with his first homer of the year, a two-run blast to right to cap the inning.

Lake Erie consistently put runners on base against Schaumburg starter John Wilson but could never come up with the big inning. The Crushers scored twice in the fourth but stranded the tying runs on base, a precursor to the remainder of the game. Milazzo blooped an RBI double in the seventh to score Aberouette and extend the lead to 5-3. Lake Erie put the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth but Jake Joyce was able to slam the door on his fifth save of the season.

Lake Erie stranded 10 on base, seven of which were in scoring position. Wilson tossed seven strong innings to equal the longest outing by a starter this year, nabbing his second win. The lefty allowed two runs on nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts to outduel Matt Valin, who suffered the loss. The Boomers finished with four hits, two from Dawson. The team also drew seven walks in addition to being hit by a pitch twice.

The Boomers (10-4) open a six-game road trip at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday against the Quebec Capitales. The team returns to Wintrust Field on June 4.