Schaumburg Boomers capture seventh consecutive victory

The Schaumburg Boomers did not trail in securing a seventh consecutive victory, toppling the Florence Y’Alls 6-5 in the opener of a weekend road series on Friday night.

Following an early morning win at Joliet and a long morning bus trip to Northern Kentucky, the Boomers showed no effects, building a 3-0 lead. Kellum Clark opened the second inning with a double and scored on a two-out single from Jeff Nicol as the Boomers jumped in front.

Alec Craig opened the third with a single and stole second before crossing the plate on a two-out single from Clark. The lead reached 3-0 in the fourth with another two-out run when Cole Smith reached on an infield single. Florence scored in the bottom of the fourth to draw within 3-1 before an unearned run in the sixth handed the Boomers a 4-1 lead.

Florence used the long ball to tie the game. Hank Zeisler homered in the sixth and Bret Blomquist evened the game with a two-run shot in the seventh. The Boomers regained the advantage in the eighth. Nicol and Will Prater opened the eighth with singles before moving up on a wild pitch.

Smith singled them both home to put Schaumburg up 6-4. The Y’Alls drew within a run in the bottom of the eighth but had the tying run thrown out at third to end the inning. All-Star Caleb Riedel quickly worked through the teeth of the Florence lineup in the ninth to nail down the win and log his 10th save of the season.