Boomers win fifth straight

The Schaumburg Boomers managed just four hits but finished off a series sweep of the Florence Y’Alls with Thursday’s 7-2 victory at Wintrust Field for the team’s fifth consecutive victory.

The Boomers logged a big inning in the bottom of the third to take a 5-0 edge. Evan Orzech singled and Alec Craig drew a walk to place runners at first and second with one away. The walk extended Craig’s on-base streak to 28. Christian Fedko smacked a double to right-center, scoring both. With two away Kyle Fitzgerald drilled his third homer of the season and his second in as many nights, a three-run blast to finish the scoring in the inning. All three homers for Fitzgerald have come at home.

Florence scored a run with two outs in the fourth but the Boomers did not need a hit to up the lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the inning. Will Prater, Tyler Depreta-Johnson and Orzech walked to load the bases and Craig and Fedko lifted sacrifice flies. Orzech had a streak of reaching base in 11 straight plate appearances end in the sixth. Florence scored their final run in the fifth on a homer from Sergio Gutierrez.

Brendan Knoll was masterful on the mound to earn his second win. The Minnesota native struck out nine and allowed just two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. The seven-inning start matches the longest of the season by a Schaumburg starter. Dallas Woolfolk and Jake Joyce tossed blank innings to finish the decision. Fedko was the lone player at the plate to collect multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a run, three RBI and a stolen base. The Boomers drew seven walks and twice were hit by a pitch.

The Boomers (17-6) own the best record in the league and will hit the road for games against the Windy City ThunderBolts. The series opener is at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Schaumburg sends John Wilson (2-0, 3.09) to the mound against Michael Barker (1-2, 6.75).