Boomers get some fireworks late to beat Windy City

Former Carmel High School center fielder Brett Milazzo says he feels blessed to be playing baseball for the Schaumburg Boomers.

While going to high school in Mundelein, he remembers seeing Wintrust Field.

From the car window.

"We used to drive by the stadium," he said.

For the many fans who drove to Wintrust Trust on Friday night, they watched an entertaining home opener for the 2023 season.

With the score tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Alec Craig belted a leadoff homer to right and then Miles Simington (3-for-5), a former all-Big Ten selection for Purdue, added an RBI single to give the four-time Frontier League champion Boomers a 5-3 win over Windy City Thunderbolts (2-5) in a time 2:13 before a crowd of 4,418.

Schaumburg pitcher Miguel Reyes did not give up a hit until Junior Martina belted a one-out 2-run homer to over the right field fence to tie the game at 2-2 with one out in the fifth inning.

Boomers manager Jamie Bennett then used Dylan Stutsman in the sixth, Kristian Scott now 2-0 after pitching in the seventh and eighth and Jake Joyce closed it out to pick up his second save and set off a nifty ten-minute fireworks display complemented with music.

Milazzo, playing in his third season for the Boomers, singled up the middle in the second inning.

"Our home opener is something new every time," said Milazzo, who helps develop players at the Athletic HQ Baseball and Softball Training facility in Elgin. "This time, I get to have my three-month old niece (Lydia) in the stands. She'll be here tonight and just seeing my whole family and everyone here is special.

"It's funny, when I was in high school I was determined to just make the varsity team. So my junior year I just wanted to just make the team. My senior year, I just wanted to play college baseball (which he did for three years as primarily a center fielder at the University of Minnesota Duluth). I really never had the big league dream as much as just making it to the level I was at or the next level.

"It's been a tremendous blessing just to be able to use the gifts I've been given."

Jamie Bennet (521-446) says Milazzo is easily one of the fastest players he has coached in 11 seasons.

"Brett is one of those guys who pretty much every day he steps on the field, he's the fastest guy," Bennett said. "You hear guys talk about where hitting may be up and down but speed shows up every day. Having him show up with that is pretty special to watch."

Fans got to watch the Boomers move to 4-3 after their home debut triumph.

"Every year brings some challenges," fifth-year Executive Vice President and General Manager Michael Larson said. "It doesn't seem to matter how much you do in the offseason, it seems like you're scrambling a little bit at the end to get the show on. But the team looks good and we're looking forward to getting the baseball going and it's going to be a great season.

"Each season is unique and special. Every year you get a family of baseball people whether it's radio guy (Tim Calderwood) to the front office staff, to baseball staff to concessions. It's always a big culture and opening day is where everybody gets to know each other for the first time and it's the start of what becomes a full journey where everyone tends to become a family over the summer."

Boomers infielder Kyle Fitzgerald of Riverside was excited to start the home schedule.

"We've had two series on the road and we had a little bit of taste at home with a charity event," said Fitzgerald, who singled and scored in the fourth inning. "I couldn't wait to see the crowd on opening night.

"I always had the dream (to play professional baseball). The road and path has been super long but it's just super exciting to be a part of all this now."