Nicol, Boomers rally past Slammers

Jeff Nicol blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Schaumburg Boomers to a 5-4 win over the Joliet Slammers on Sunday afternoon at Wintrust Field in the rubber game of the weekend set.

Buddie Pindel threw seven shutout innings for the Boomers, who built a 2-0 lead in the contest. Kellum Clark singled home Cole Smith for the first run of the game in the third. Kyle Fitzgerald smacked a solo homer with two outs in the seventh to extend the advantage.

Joliet broke through against the bullpen in the eighth, scoring four times to take the lead. The heroics from Nicol came after Christian Fedko walked and Will Prater singled, both with one away.

Pindel walked two and struck out three in the no-decision. The All-Star allowed seven hits. Joliet had runners on base in every inning except the ninth, when fellow All-Star Caleb Riedel spun a perfect frame for his sixth save of the year. Holland Townes earned the win in relief.