Boomers hold on to beat Lake Erie

The Schaumburg Boomers bounced the league’s leader in ERA after just two innings, building an early 5-0 advantage but needed to hold off a ninth inning rally to open a key midweek series with a 7-5 victory over Lake Erie, drawing within 2.5 games of the final West Division playoff spot.

The first two batters of the contest reached following lengthy at bats as Alec Craig walked and Andrew Sojka followed with a single. Christian Fedko put down a sacrifice bunt and the first run of the game came across on a wild pitch. Chase Dawson registered an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0. Three more scored in the second with another run scoring on a wild pitch before Craig plated two with a double.

The second inning was the last for Anthony Escobar, who came into the game with a 1.97 ERA. The Boomers tacked on insurance runs in the fourth and fifth on a safety squeeze from Sojka and an RBI single from Allante Hall.

Jake Joyce shut the door for his 13th save, pulling within one of Dexter Price’s all-time franchise record. Cole Cook became the franchise’s single season leader in strikeouts, fanning eight in six innings including six in the first three. Cook surpassed the mark of 117 set by Shumpei Yoshikawa in 2022. Mitch White worked 2.2 innings, striking out four. The pitching staff struck out 13 in the game.

The offense finished with eight hits, but just three over the final seven innings. The team drew 10 walks to match a season high and also saw a runner reach on a hit by pitch. There was traffic on the bases in every inning but the seventh for the Boomers, who left 13 on base. Tyler Depreta-Johnson reached base four times, registering two hits to go with two walks. Craig also reached four times, coaxing three walks in addition to the two-run double.