Big inning pushes Joliet past Boomers

The Schaumburg Boomers dropped a 7-3 contest to the Joliet Slammers in the middle game of a road series on Wednesday night.

The Slammers sent 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the third against Schaumburg starter Peter Gehle, scoring five times to notch a 5-0 advantage. Kyle Ruchim broke up the shutout with an RBI double in the sixth. Ruchim has reached in 18 consecutive contests. Michael Valadez hit his second homer of the year in the seventh and pinch hitter Ty Nelson doubled home a run in the ninth to produce the Schaumburg runs.

Gehle worked just three innings in taking the loss. Kagen Hopkins threw three innings in relief, allowing a run but tallying six strikeouts. Valadez and Cam Sherrer each picked up two hits in the contest as the Boomers finished with eight.

The Boomers (35-51) conclude the series with Joliet on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Schaumburg has one final homestand remaining that begins on Friday night.