By Scott Gierman
Media Relations Director
Southern Illinois Miners

MARION, Ill. – The Frontier League announced the 2009 schedule earlier today.  The Miners will open the season on the road with three games against the Evansville Otters beginning on Friday, May 22.  The home opener at Rent One Park is scheduled for Friday, May 29 against theKalamazoo Kings.  Game times have not yet been announced.

For the third year in a row the Miners will have a home game on Independence Day as they take on the Otters Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Fourth of July weekend.  The regular season will conclude at Rent One Park when the Miners host River City on Labor Day weekend, Friday, Sept. 4-Sunday, Sept. 6.

The Miners will travel to two new locations during the 2009 campaign as a new team in Avon, Ohio will replace the Chillicothe Paints, and theMidwest Sliders will move into a temporary home in Ypsilanti, Mich. on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.

Miners fans will have their first opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2009 season when Miners 10 Game Holiday Ticket Packs go on sale on Friday, Nov. 28 at the General Store at Rent One Park.

By Scott Gierman
Media Relations Director
Southern Illinois Miners

MARION, Ill. – Ryan Bird has become the first Miners player to be named to the magazine Baseball America’s All-Independent Leagues First Team.  The Miners 2008 ace pitcher was one of five pitchers to receive the publication’s post-season honor and the only starter out of the Frontier League.

Bird was also one of the three finalists for the honor of Baseball America’s Independent Leagues Player of the Year.  The award went to Orange County’s Patrick Breen of the Golden League.

“Ryan had an extraordinary season for us and deserved this award,” Miners Manager Mike Pinto said.  “Not only does he have great stuff, he was a great ambassador of the Miners while he was here.”

Bird went 13-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 20 starts with the Miners in 2008.  Each one of those stats set a Miners single-season record.  His 152 strikeouts in 2008 are the second most in a single season in Frontier League history.  He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization immediately following the season.

By Scott Gierman
Media Relations Director
Southern Illinois Miners

MARION, Ill. – Baseball America has named former Southern Illinois Miners pitcher Clay Zavada the top independent league prospect who signed with an affiliate club.  The southpaw posted a 2-1 record and a 1.72 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Miners in 2007 before signing with theArizona Diamondbacks on June 18.

Zavada spent the remainder of the year with the South Bend Silver Hawks, Arizona’s Single-A affiliate.  There he recorded a 3-1 record with a 0.51 ERA and helped the Silver Hawks to the championship series of the Midwest League playoffs.  He finished the season in the middle of a 30.1 scoreless innings streak.

“We were fortunate to have Clay with us to start the season,” Miners Manager Mike Pinto said. “I am glad that we were able to give him the opportunity to get back to a major league organization and start his road to the big leagues.  The dominant success that he had in the Diamondbacks organization this season shows the quality pitcher he is.  We could not be more thrilled for him.”

The 24-year-old originally signed with the Diamondbacks coming out of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2006 but took off the 2007 season for personal reasons.

Bart’s Diary:  Final Entry: September 13, 2008

 Wow, it does not seem possible that the season has come to an end! 

Why, only yesterday I was meeting Ralph Santana, Brad Hall, Ron Biga, and of course our skipper Mike Pinto, to discuss the plans for Spring Training and the 2008 season. 

One could not write a better script for the four months that transpired since we gathered at Rent One in early May.  The players I have met, the wonderful fans that invited us to their homes, the people who have just been so open and honest about their love for the team and of course our wonderful Owner Jayne Simmons…they are so great! 

 First of all, I would re remiss if I did not single out four very special players from this year’s team. 

The Frontier League has an “aging out process” (yes, I have already exceeded it) where a player may not celebrate his 27^th birthday prior to January 1^st of the current season.  We will be losing Travis Hope, Brandon Jones, Chris Little and Mike Scanzano for the 2009 season.  They will surely be missed and very difficult to replace.  However, as Mike always does, he will find players who will have to be compared to Travis, Brandon, Chris and Mike…a very tough job to fill.  You guys were great and I personally wish you continued good health, happiness and success as you move onward and upward.

 To the Miners fans, I cannot say enough about you. 

We had an “electric” atmosphere for the playoffs.  A large number of fans traveled to Chicago for the first two games, which really was great to see.  Thanks for the effort and support!  The attendance was announced somewhere around 2,750, but these were the fans of baseball!  They stayed right to the end and, in fact, had me convinced that we would pull out the final game in the ninth inning with something as dramatic as a grand slam!

 I also have to apologize to the fans for the way we played in the playoffs.  No, coaches cannot pitch, field and hit…but something was missing in our demeanor.  We were out-hit, out-pitched and out-hustled in the play-offs.  Our fielding was probably on par with Windy City as both teams did not do a real good job on defense. 

So, that is one step forward for the Miners and now we know what it takes to climb the entire mountain.  It is almost like climbing a water tower when you are afraid of heights…you are not sure what you are afraid of because you have never done it…but something is different.  Now we know what the play-offs are about.

 I do want to wish the Windy City Thunderbolts the very best in the Championship Series.  It is my opinion that they are the better team, have a certain “swagger” about them and they know what it is like to win the big games. 

 And finally to the members of the media and the Miners staff, I would like to say thank you for making 2008 a year to remember.  The press does a wonderful job of covering the Miners and every day, “says it like it is” and I appreciate that very much. 

From Eric Haag and Tim Arseneau to every member of the game day staff and the “Diamond Girls”…thanks for all you do to present a first class product on the field every night.  Without your support and effort, our ball club would just be another baseball team.

God willing and the creek don’t rise, I hope to see you all out at Rent One Park on Opening Day 2009.   May you be blessed with good health and happiness over the coming months and hopefully we will find the inner strength to “climb that water tower.”

Bart Zeller, Coach
Southern Illinois Miners 

MARION — Miners’ pitcher Ryan Bird will have a new address beginning this week.

The Frontier League’s pitcher of the year will head down to Jupiter, Fla., home of the St. Louis Cardinals’ instructional team, for an evaluation by the club’s scouts.  

“Incredible situation for him,” said Miners’ manager Mike Pinto.  

Pinto said he talked with St. Louis less than a week ago about Bird.  Pinto added that Bird would bring a resume of success with him to Florida.

“He may be one of the best pitchers in the Frontier League’s history with the season he had.” 

Bird led the Frontier League with 152 strikeouts and finished the regular season with a 2.48 ERA, the second lowest in the league.  Bird also led the league with 13 wins.

Bird found out about the Cardinals’ interest on Monday.  By Tuesday, the 24-year-old Potomac native was in discussions with one of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises.   

“I never wanted this season to end,” Bird said.  ”Great group of guys, but (the Cardinals) said whenever you’re done there, you’re going to come meet us and we’re going to have our coaches evaluate you.”

Bird pitched collegiately at St. Louis University.  The 5-foot-10, 180-pound right-hander pitched in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system in 2007.

If Bird can make a minor league roster with the Cardinals he will become the third Miners’ pitcher this season to hook up with an affiliated team.  Right-hander Tanner Roark was selected in the 11th round of the 2008 draft by Arizona.  Lefty reliever Clay Zavada signed with the Diamondbacks’ Class A South Bend club.  

MARION — The Southern Illinois Miners were eliminated from the 2008 Frontier League playoffs in a 10-6 loss to Windy City Tuesday at Rent One Park.

Windy City’s Phil Hawke drove in three-runs with a third-inning homer that turned the momentum of the game.   Miners’ pitcher Ryan Bird (0-1) toiled for 3 1/3 innings and allowed six earned runs on seven hits in one of his shortest starts of 2008.

Windy City starter Ross Stout (1-0) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs — three earned.  Brandon GArner picked up his first save of the postseason by recording the final two outs of the game on a double-play ball off the bat of Tim Dorn with the bases loaded.

The Miners scored a pair of runs in the first inning on singles from Joey Metropoulos and Brandon Jones.  Windy City answered in the top of the second on Justin Tellam’s sacrifice fly.  

Southern Illinois took a 4-1 lead on Kevin House’s run-scoring double and a run-scoring error by shortstop Wes Long on Tony Roth’s ground ball.  Danny Sawyer led off the third with a home run — his first hit of the season — and Hawke followed with a home run with runners on first and second and one out for a 5-4 lead.

Stout retired nine straight after allowing Metropoulos’ leadoff double in the third inning.  Metropoulos finished with three hits and three RBIs.  Metropoulos picked up his second RBI on a seventh-inning sacrifice fly that scored Kevin House from third base to cut Windy City’s lead to 9-5.  Metropoulos’ final RBI came on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning to get the tying run to the plate.  Metropoulos also scored a run in the first inning on Jones’ single.    

House scored twice and had one hit.  Mike Scanzano finished with two hits after being held hitless in his first 10 at-bats of the postseason.  Jones had a pair of hits and one RBI.  Eric Suttle had a single and a run scored.  Andre Miller reached base three times, scoring once.

Sawyer had two hits and two RBIs for the ThunderBolts, who advanced to their second consecutive league championship series with the 3-1 division playoff win.  Windy City will meet Kalamazoo, which defeated Gateway 3-1.  Game one of the FL championship series begins Sat., Sept. 13.

Windy City 10 (3-1)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Mejia,G 2b...............  5  2  2  1   0  0  4  4   3
Sullivan,M cf............  4  0  1  1   0  0  1  0   1
Coles,M lf...............  4  1  1  1   1  1  0  0   0
Hawke,P 1b...............  5  2  3  3   0  1 13  1   1
Long,W ss................  5  1  3  0   0  2  2  1   0
Horn,J 3b................  5  0  1  1   0  1  0  7   1
Tellam,J dh..............  3  2  1  1   1  1  0  0   0
Billak,S rf..............  3  1  1  0   0  0  1  1   2
Sawyer,D c...............  4  1  2  2   1  2  6  0   0
Stout,R p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  4   0
 Lowey,J p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 Garner,B p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38 10 15 10   3  8 27 20   9

SI Miners 6 (1-3)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Miller,A lf/cf...........  3  1  0  0   2  1  1  0   0
Roth,T 2b................  3  0  1  1   0  1  2  2   0
Metropoulous 1b..........  3  1  2  3   1  1 10  1   0
Dorn,T dh................  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
Jones,B 3b...............  4  0  2  1   0  0  0  1   0
Akashian, B. c...........  3  0  0  0   1  1  9  0   2
Suttle,E cf..............  3  1  1  0   0  0  2  0   1
 Rosa,R ph...............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
 Paula,M lf..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Scanzano,M ss............  3  0  2  0   0  1  0  3   0
 Bennett,A pr............  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
House,K rf...............  4  2  1  1   0  1  3  0   0
Bird,R p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  4   0
 Starnes,N p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Allen,C p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Mcmurran,J p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Phelps,M p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 30  6  9  6   4  6 27 11   7

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Windy City.......... 014 102 110 - 10 15  2
SI Miners........... 220 000 101 -  6  9  0
-------------------------------------------

E - Mejia,G; Long,W. DP - Thunderbolts 2. LOB - Thunderbolts 9; Miners 7. 2B
- Sullivan,M; Hawke,P; Long,W 2; Metropoulous; House,K. HR - Hawke,P;
Sawyer,D. HBP - Mejia,G; Roth,T; Dorn,T. SH - Sullivan,M; Billak,S 2;
Roth,T; Dorn,T; Scanzano,M. SF - Tellam,J; Metropoulous. SB - Mejia,G.

Windy City             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Stout,R.............  6.1  8  5  3  1  5 24 29
Lowey,J.............  2.0  1  1  1  3  1  5 10
Garner,B............  0.2  0  0  0  0  0  1  1

SI Miners              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Bird,R..............  3.1  7  6  6  1  3 14 18
Starnes,N...........  2.2  3  2  2  1  2 10 12
Allen,C.............  1.0  2  1  1  0  1  5  5
Mcmurran,J..........  1.0  1  1  1  0  1  4  5
Phelps,M............  1.0  2  0  0  1  1  5  6

Win - Stout,R (1-0).  Loss - Bird,R (0-1).  Save - Garner,B (1).
WP - Phelps,M. HBP - by Stout,R (Dorn,T); by Mcmurran,J (Mejia,G); by Lowey,J
(Roth,T).
Umpires -
Start: 7:05   Time: 3:11   Attendance: 2528

MARION — Another day, another elimination game, another chance to keep a Frontier League championship march alive.

Southern Illinois (1-2) looks to keep winning must-have games in tonight’s 7:05 p.m. contest with Windy City (2-1) at Rent One Park.  The Miners bounced back after a pair of shaky games and avoided a sweep in this best-of-five division playoff series with a 4-2 win Monday.

Click here for the Miner Details game wrap with box score.  Click here for Pete Spitler’s Southern Illinoisan game story.  Click here for the Miners’ schedule and results.

FL Pitcher of the Year Ryan Bird (0-0, 10.80 ERA) faces off against Windy City ace Ross Stout (0-0, 1.35 ERA) with the season on the line.  Both Bird and Stout will pitch on three days rest tonight.  

Bird struggled with wet baseballs on a damp night at Windy City in his first start.  He tossed 113 pitches over five innings, allowing eight hits while tying a season-high with six earned runs allowed.  Bird was forced to throw more fastballs than usual when he could not get his curveball grip going early.  

Stout threw 127 pitches in 6.2 innings, allowing one earned run in a no-decision against Bird on Sept. 5.  Tonight will be Stout’s fifth start against the Miners.  Counting the regular season, Stout has a 2.33 ERA versus Southern Illinois.  Stout is not scared to walk guys.  He issued five free passes in game one.    

Monday could have been a turning point for the Miners.  The win reminded catcher Brendan Akashian of a similar situation late in the season.

“I look back at that Kalamazoo series (Aug. 19-21) when we went down by two games and no one really panicked,” Akashian said.  ”We reeled off five wins and if we reel off five wins now, we’re going to be a game away from winning the championship.  I think we can do the same thing and hopefully just keep going.”

Actually, the Miners ran off six straight wins — a season high — and took two from Windy City at Rent One Park.

Third baseman Brandon Jones hit a monster three-run homer in Monday’s win.  He said the Miners finally broke through offensively.  Now, he added, it’s time to carry that over in tonight’s game.

“We’ve got to take our same approach,” Jones said.  ”We had a collective effort (Monday) at the plate.  We made the game very difficult for (WC starter Stephen Flake) and that’s what we have to do (tonight).  There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll bring the same intensity as we brought (Monday).  We’re going to take the same approach of playing 27 outs hard.”

Click here for tonight’s lineups.

Click here for Miner Details’ “Inside the box score” story on four key areas in last night’s win. 

Jones on receiving a standing ovation as he took the field in the seventh inning after his sixth-inning home run:  ”That’s amazing.  I’ve only received two and they’ve both been here and I honestly don’t know how to respond to them.  I smile, but the hat tipping or coming back out and tipping my helmet, that’s something I don’t do.  I’ll acknowledge it and I really, really appreciate it, but I really don’t know how to respond to it because I’ve never really had it.  But I do appreciate it.”

Jones on manager Mike Pinto’s comment that the homer added energy to the Miners’ dugout:  ”I agree with him to an extent.  We needed to score a run there.  That was a big run standing on third base.  We needed to get that run in and I’m just thankful to be in a position to get that run in.  I think we already had energy…If we couldn’t get up for a game that could possibly make or break our season, we didn’t need to play tonight anyway.  We had the intensity, we had the energy coming into the game.  That just helped out.”

Around the FL playoffs:  Kalamazoo beat Gateway, 3-2, Monday at GCS Ballpark in Sauget on Brendan Murphy’s leadoff home run in the ninth inning.  Click here for Rick Shanley’s game story in the Kalamazoo Gazette.  Click here for a link to Gateway’s press release about the game. 

Playoff leaders (Miners’ leader) 
Batting average: Scott Billak, Windy City - .556 (Tim Dorn; Andre Miller, .333)
Home runs:  Several tied with 1 (Brandon Jones; Brendan Akashian)
RBI: Phil Hawke, Windy City - 4 (Jones, 3)
Hits: Coles - 7 (Dorn, 4)
Doubles: Hawke - 2 (Metropoulos; Dorn, 1)
Triples: Gilberto Mejia, Windy City; Brandon Anderson, Kalamazoo; Robbie Minor, Gateway - 1 (No Miners)
On-base percentage: Billak - .692 (Miller, .571)
Slugging percentage: Brendan Murphy, Kalamazoo - .750 (Jones, .462)
Extra-base hits: Hawke - 2 (Metropoulos; Dorn; Jones; Akashian, 1)
Runs scored: Coles; Miller - 4 

ERA:  Several with 0.00 ERA (Chris Little; Mike Phelps; Griffin Bailey, 0.00)
Wins:  Several players tied with 1 (Little, 1)
Saves:  Joel Boeschen, Windy City; Phelps - 1 
Strikeouts: Eric Ridener, Gateway - 11 (Ryan Bird, 7)
Games:  Several with 2 (Armando Carrasco; Bailey; Jake McMurran; Phelps)
Complete games:  John Brownell, Kalamazoo - 1 (No Miners)
Shutouts:  Brownell - 1 (No Miners)
Innings pitched:  Brownell; Derek Blacksher, Gateway - 9.0 (Little, 6.0)
Losses:  Several tied at 1 (Brett Scarpetta; Phelps)
Walks:  Hess - 8 (Little, 4)
Home runs allowed:  Blacksher, Stephen Flake, Windy City - 2 (No Miners) 

Team rankings
Batting average:  SI Miners - .202, 2nd; Windy City - .291, 1st
ERA:  SI Miners - 3.08, 4th; Windy City - 2.33, 1st

Tonight’s forecast:  Mostly sunny with a daytime high around 80 degrees changing to mostly clear with a nighttime low around 61 degrees with light east winds. 

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Southern Illinois’ Ryan Bird (0-1, 10.80 ERA), a 5-foot-10, 180-pound right-hander, has a high-80s, low-90s fastball with a good curveball and a changeup.      

Windy City’s Ross Stout (0-0, 1.35 ERA), a 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander, has a high-80s fastball, a 12-to-6 curve, a changeup and a slider.     

We’ll be back after Windy City takes its first-inning at-bats…

First pitch, ball, 7:13 p.m. CDT

First inning:
Miners’ starter Ryan Bird retired the side in order on 12 pitches.  Second baseman Gilberto Mejia grounded out, 3-1, on a pulled 1-2 pitch.  Center fielder Mike Sullivan lifted a 1-1 pitch to left field for a fly-out.  Left fielder Mike Coles swung through a 1-2 offering for the final out.

Southern Illinois jumped on Windy City right-hander Ross Stout early for a pair of first-inning runs.  Left fielder Andre Miller took a seven-pitch base-on-balls.  Second baseman Tony Roth laid down a first-pitch 3-4 sac bunt.  Miller advanced to second base.  First baseman Joey Metropoulos drove in Miller with a one-strike single to left field.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn tried to lay down a first-pitch bunt for a single and got a 5-3 sac bunt.  Metro moved to second base.  Third baseman Brandon Jones grounded a single through the left side of Windy City’s infield infield for an RBI single that scored Metro from second base for a 2-0 lead.  Jones advanced to second on Coles’ throw home.  Catcher Brendan Akashian fouled off four two-strike pitches before striking out in a 10-pitch at-bat.  While Akashian got out, that’s a great first-inning at-bat against a pitcher who’s on three days rest after a 127-pitch start.   2-0 Miners.   

Second inning:
Windy City got a run back in the second inning.  The Miners put the shift on for first baseman Phil Hawke.  Jones played shortstop with shortstop Mike Scanzano playing in shallow center on the first base side of second base.  Roth was in shallow right.  Hawke laid down a bunt single to the left side of the Miners’ infield on a 1-0 pitch.  Shortstop Wes Long pulled a 1-1 pitch to left field for a ground-rule double.  Hawke advanced to third base.  Bird snapped off a pair of devastating curveballs to third baseman Josh Horn in a four-pitch, swinging strikeout.  Designated hitter Josh Tellam waited on a 2-1 off-speed pitch and lifted it to centerfield for an RBI sac fly.  Hawke scored from third as Windy City cut the Miners’ lead to 2-1.  Long stayed at second base.  Right fielder Scott Billak hit into a check-swing, 1-3 groundout on a 2-2 pitch for the final out.    

Southern Illinois got back the run it allowed in the top of the inning and then some.  Center fielder Eric Suttle reached on an infield single in front of the plate when Sawyer, the catcher, could not get a good angle for a throw to first base.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano laid down a 1-4 sac bunt to move Suttle to second base.  Right fielder Kevin House pulled a 0-2 pitch down the left-field line for a run-scoring double.  Suttle motored home from second for a 3-1 lead.  House moved to third on Miller’s 1-3 groundout.  Roth reached and House scored on Long’s seventh error of the series as the Miners took a four-run lead.  Roth was picked off first base, 1-3-6-3, with Metropoulos at the plate.  4-1 Miners.

Third inning:
Southern Illinois’ three-run lead lasted all of five batters as the Miners fell behind, 5-4.  Catcher Danny Sawyer’s first hit of the series was a leadoff home run to left on a 2-1 pitch.  Mejia reached on an infield single to shortstop.  Sullivan laid down a second-pitch, 1-3 sac bunt that moved Mejia to second base.  Bird may have had time to force out Mejia at second base, but with Mejia’s speed the throw to first was the safe play.  Coles reached on a six-pitch walk.  Hawke turned on Bird’s first pitch for a three-run home run to right-center as Windy City jumped ahead, 5-4.  Pitching coach Brad Hall went out to the mound for a brief meeting.  Long was called out on strikes in a six-pitch at-bat.  Horn grounded out, 1-3. 

The Miners came close, but could not push a run across in the  third.  Metropoulos yanked a 1-0 pitch off the top of the left-field fence for a double with a head-first slide.  Dorn fouled off a pair of full-count pitches before advancing Metro to third with a 5-3 groundout.  Jones scalded a 1-1 pitch for a line-out to shortstop.  Akashian grounded out, 5-3, on a full-count offering.  5-4 ThunderBolts.   

Fourth inning:
Tellam lined a full-count offering to centerfield as right-hander Nick Starnes tossed in the Miners’ bullpen.  Billak laid down a 1-3 sac bunt on a 0-1 pitch.  Tellam advanced to second base.  Sawyer picked up his second RBI of the series with a single through the box that scored Tellam from second base.  Manager Mike Pinto went to Starnes (0.00 ERA) for the right-hander’s first postseason appearance.  Mejia flied-out to right on Starnes second pitch of the inning.  Sullivan grounded a 0-1 pitch into a 6-4 fielder’s choice.
Bird’s line:  3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO. 

Stout sat the Miners down in order in the fourth.  Suttle grounded out, 5-3, on a 2-2 pitch.  Scanzano struck out swinging on three pitches as right-hander Patrick Brooks tossed in the ThunderBolt’ bullpen.  House grounded out to first base, unassisted, on a 0-1 pitch.  6-4 ThunderBolts. 

Fifth inning:
Starnes shut down the ThunderBolts in a scoreless fifth.  Hawke doubled down the left-field line on a 2-2 pitch.  Long swung through a shoulder-high 2-2 offering.  Horn grounded out, 5-3, on the first pitch of his at-bat.   

Stout mowed down the side in a scoreless fifth.  Miller struck out swinging on a 1-2 pitch.  Roth went to a knee swinging through a full-count pitch.  Metropoulos was called out on strikes in a three-pitch at-bat.  6-4 ThunderBolts.

Sixth inning:
The Miners are in some serious trouble, down by four runs.  Tellam reached on a seven-pitch walk.  Billak reached on a sac fielder’s choice when Starnes went to second base trying to get the lead runner in a forceout on a very close play.  The harkened back to Bird taking the sure out at first base in the third inning.  Sawyer was called out on strikes in a three-pitch at-bat.  Mejia’s first-pitch single past a diving Metropoulos scored Tellam from second for a 7-4 lead.  Billak moved to third base.  Mejia stole second base on Starnes’ 2-1 offering to Sullivan.  Roth looked Billak back to third on Sullivan’s full-count, 4-3 groundout.  Coles’ infield single scored Billak from third for an 8-4 lead.  Mejia tried to score from second and was retired, 4-3-2, at the plate.  8-4 ThunderBolts. 

Promising inning undone in the sixth.  Dorn was hit by Stout’s 1-2 pitch.  Jones singled through the left side of the infield on a 1-2 pitch.  Dorn moved to second base as right-hander Chris Allen warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Akashian flied-out to center on a 1-1 pitch.  Suttle grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.  Dorn slid under the throw about 20 feet from the bag.  Jones was retired at second base.  8-4 ThunderBolts.   

Seventh inning
Right-hander Chris Allen (0.00 ERA) entered for his first playoff appearance and gave up an earned run.  Hawke struck out swinging on three pitches.  Long doubled to center on a ball Suttle took his time getting to the infield.  Long saw that as he rounded first and pressed the issue, sliding into the bag ahead of the throw.  Horn’s full-count single to left scored Long from second base for a 9-4 lead.  Hall met with Allen on the mound as right-hander Jake McMurran tossed in the Miners’ bullpen.  Billak grounded a 1-2 pitch into a 6-3 putout.      
Starnes’ line:  2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.  

The Miners got a run back, but ran themselves out of the inning.  Scanzano sold out his gimpy hamstring with a bunt single for his first hit of the playoffs.  House grounded into a 4-6 fielder’s choice that erased Scanzano at second base.  Mejia’s fielding error on Miller’s slow roller towards second base put runners on first and second base.  Roth dumped a first-pitch single to left that bounced off the glove of a diving Coles to load the bases.  House advanced to third, Miller to second.  Windy City manager Mike Kashirsky replaced Stout with right-hander Jason Lowey (1 G, 0.00 ERA).  Metropoulos lifted a 0-1 pitch to right for a run-scoring sac fly.  House scored from third to cut the lead to 9-5.  Roth was retired, 9-5-4, trying to take second base on Billak’s throw to third base.  9-5 ThunderBolts.
Stout’s line:  6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HB.  

Eighth inning:
Right-hander Jake McMurran (2 G, 3.00 ERA) took over for the Miners as they gave back the run they picked up in the seventh.  Sawyer struck out swinging.  McMurran hit Mejia with a 0-2 pitch.  Sullivan doubled a 3-1 pitch off a running House’s glove in right field to score Mejia from first base.  Coles’ fly-out to right field advanced Sullivan to third base.  Hawke lined out to Roth in shallow right field.
Allen’s line:  1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.    

Lowey tossed up a zero in the eighth.  Dorn grounded out, 1-3, on a check swing.  Jones grounded out, 5-3, on a 1-2 pitch.  Akashian reached on a base-on-balls.  Randy Rosa (.000 BA) entered as a pinch hitter for Suttle and grounded out, 1-3, to end the inning.  10-5 ThunderBolts.

Ninth inning:
Right-hander Mike Phelps (0-1, 0.00 ERA) took over for McMurran and kept the Miners within five runs.  Manny Paula moved to left field with Miller sliding over to center.  Long singled to center on a 2-1 pitch.  Horn flied-out to right on a full-count offering.  Tellam struck out looking.  Billak singled to left to advance Long to second base.  Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch to Sawyer, who loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk.  Mejia’s 4-3 groundout ended the inning.
McMurran’s line:  1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HP. 

Lowey came back out for the ninth and slammed the door on the Miners’ season.  Scanzano singled to left.  House struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch.  Scanzano was replaced by pinch runner Andrew Bennett.  Miller took a walk in a seven-pitch at-bat.  Kashirsky met with Lowey at the mound.  Roth was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Joey Metropoulos took a base-on-balls that scored Bennett from third base.  Miller advanced to third, Roth to second.  Kashirsky replaced Lowey with right-hander Brandon Garner (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to face Dorn.  Dorn grounded into a series-ending double play on the first pitch of his at-bat.  Final score: 10-6 ThunderBolts. 

Smart, timely, opportunistic (and lucky) hitting; big-play defense; tough-as-nails pitching; holding Windy City’s big 3 in check

MARION — Southern Illinois’ 4-2 win Monday over Windy City at Rent One Park was obviously huge because of what it prevented, a three-game sweep to the defending Frontier League champions.  

 The Miners are still alive in the best-of-five division playoff round, but how they got to this position might be as important as the actual win, at least for the future of this series.  Southern Illinois was frustratingly inept in several areas as it dropped the first two games of the series on the road.  

Quality at-bats that produced timely hits or a bit of luck were in short supply.  Defense that changed games in a positive way was nowhere to be found.  Tough pitching in tough situations was rare.  Preventing Windy City’s three most dangerous offensive weapons from taking over games simply didn’t happen.

It all turned around Monday for the Miners.

Smart, timely, opportunistic (and lucky) hitting

Southern Illinois, the FL’s top hitting team, entered game three with a .188 team batting average and one extra base hit.  The Miners quadrupled that series total with a double and a pair of game and attitude-changing home runs.  There was also a bit of luck involved in a three-run inning that pumped up the energy level in the home dugout and in the Rent One Park stands.

Brendan Akashian’s second-inning solo home run was the first sign that things could be changing for the Miners.  Akashian slid into the game on a 0-for-8 streak in two losses.  He said after Saturday’s loss that he was seeing the ball well, but wasn’t getting results.  He got results with a blast that hit the top of the Silkworm sign more than 20 feet above the stadium playing surface nearly 400 feet from the plate. 

“It’s crazy,” said Akashian after Monday’s win.  ”I don’t really think my swing is bad at all.  It’s baseball.  You only get four at-bats.  If you don’t get a hit, you look like an idiot.  Honestly, today I just tried to swing as hard as I could because I know my mechanics are there.  I felt like that was a good approach to go with and it worked out.”

Tony Roth saw the Miners’ luck change in the sixth inning when he reached base on a botched sacrifice bunt attempt with Andre Miller on first base with no outs.  It worked out in Southern Illinois’ favor.

“I got lucky,” Roth said.  He (Flake) came in and tried to make a real good play.  He dove and his glove kind of got caught underneath him and luckily it fell in.  It started a big inning for us.”

The Miners needed a big inning after allowing an unearned run to cross the plate that tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the sixth.  Brandon Jones stepped to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners to face Windy City starter Stephen Flake.  

Jones’ game-changing three-run home run might have happened in the sixth inning, but the foundation of his at-bat was built the previous time he faced Flake in a 5-4 win on Aug. 27.  In that game, Jones hit a three-run home run that gave the Miners a 3-2 lead in the third inning. 

Jones said he recognized a fatal pattern in Flake’s pitching approach to him.

“It’s primarily because he does the same thing over and over and over,” Jones said.  ”Tendency charts don’t really dictate how they’re going to pitch…I don’t really pay attention to those, but I do pay attention to what you’ve thrown during the course of a game.  Every time I face him he tries to do the same thing.  The first time I faced him (on Aug. 27) he went 1-0 then he threw a fastball.  OK.  Alright.  The next time I got up he threw a fastball and I hit it hard.”

Jones repeated the performance Monday in the same count, but on a different pitch.

“It was a changeup,” Jones said.  ”He just left it up.  The two previous at-bats he did the same exact thing: ball one, then changeup; ball one, then changeup.  He threw ball one and I was like, ‘Alright.  If you do the same thing I’m looking for your changeup now.’” 

Jones looked for the changeup and found it.  The ball found the pond beyond the left-field fence for a 4-1 lead that pumped up both the Miners’ dugout and the Rent One Park crowd.

“The amazing part was, with the crack of the bat there was no doubt,” said manager Mike Pinto.  ”The question was just going to be how far it went.  Like I said, it changed the entire energy and dynamic of our dugout.  We were pretty calm and all that, but there was still maybe some after effects of the last two games.  With that one (swing), the confidence came into the dugout about the way the guys played the game.”

Big-play defense

Southern Illinois’ defense stood out for all the wrong reasons in a pair of losses at Windy City that put the Miners on the brink of a sweep in their first playoff appearance.  The Miners still face elimination, and the defense still surrendered an unearned run with two errors in Monday’s win, but three big plays erased those mistakes.

Akashian was at the center of two of those plays by gunning down two of Windy City’s best base stealers, Mike Coles and Gilberto Mejia.  The ThunderBolts’ duo had a pair of stolen bases in the series and 59 combined swipes during the regular season.

“To get Mejia and Coles, two of their fastest guys (and) maybe two of the fastest guys in the league, to have him come up…He just came up big tonight in general,” Pinto said.

Akashian threw out Mejia at second base in an attempted steal in the fifth inning with Southern Illinois ahead, 1-0.  Instead of having a runner in scoring position with nobody out and Mike Sullivan at the plate, the ThunderBolts had the bases empty with one out.  Miners’ starter Chris Little retired the next two batters he faced to end the inning.

Akashian and reliever Jake McMurran combined for a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play in the seventh as Southern Illinois got itself out of a jam after Little walked the leadoff batter before being replaced.  League MVP Phil Hawke stepped to the plate with Coles on first and one out.  Coles took off for second base on a full-count offering that Hawke swung through.  Akashian fired to second to end the inning.

“It was big, mentally for me, too, for them to know they’re not going to run all over us,” Akashian said.  ”I think if we can keep the running game in check then we’ll have a good chance to take these next two.”

“He did a great job back there and threw them out by a good portion,” said Windy City manager Mike Kashirsky.  ”It kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit.”

Eric Suttle drained away a little more wind in the eighth inning.  

Windy City had just plated a run to cut Southern Illinois’ lead to 4-2 with runners on first and second base with no outs and Griffin Bailey on the mound.  Scott Billak, who has three RBIs in the series, hit a 2-2 pitch for a short line drive to centerfield.  Suttle, who took over in center after Andre Miller’s tough game-two performance, charged the ball.  The play looked similar to a poor-choice dive by Miller in game two that resulted in a triple, but Suttle extended towards the plate and came up with the catch.  Bailey hit the next batter he faced, which would have driven in a run had Suttle not kept the bases from being loaded with his catch.

Tough-as-nails pitching

Chris Little said all season that he wanted the ball in pressure situations.  No game had more riding on it than Monday’s and Little stepped up with a quality start.

“It was definitely a must-have start,” Little said.  ”I don’t know what else to say…I really tried to mix it up with these guys.  I’ve faced them a lot and they know that I’m a fastball pitcher and they know I work off my fastball.  My whole game-plan was to throw them off-speed early in the game kind of confuse them a little bit about what my tactics would be in going after them today.”

Little gave up five hits in six innings and Windy City’s lone run off him was unearned.  Pinto said his right-handed starter carried the team on his back. 

Little allowed base runners in each of his six-plus innings, but he did a good job of pitching out of trouble.  The bullpen also came up with scrambling performances as they held off a dangerous Windy City offense.

Little shut out the ThunderBolts for five innings.  He got an inning-ending, bases-loaded groundout in the sixth inning of a tie ballgame.  Little tired in the seventh and allowed a leadoff base runner before handing the ball off to the Miners’ bullpen.

“Control, it was definitely an issue, especially later in the game being worn out,” Little said.  ”And the emotions can really tire you out.  I’ve seen that now with that being my first playoff game…Luckily I was able to throw enough pitches to keep out of those situations.”

McMurran took over with a runner on first base in the seventh.  He got a fielder’s choice groundout and struck out Hawke as part of a double play.    

Bailey relieved McMurran in the eighth and pitched the Miners out of a potentially catastrophic inning.  McMurran allowed a leadoff base runner and a single that followed a Miller error to put runners on the corners with no outs.  Bailey gave up an infield single as Windy City cut the lead to 4-2.  Suttle followed with his diving catch for the first out.  Bailey loaded the bases with a hit by pitch then induced a fielder’s choice groundout that erased a runner at the plate.  Bailey then struck out Mike Sullivan to end the threat.

McMurran and Bailey’s performances were big for more than just their effect on the scoreboard.

“When McMurran got his out of that (seventh) inning and when Bailey got his out, the dugout absolutely erupted,” Pinto said.

Mike Phelps came in and closed out the ballgame with a perfect ninth inning against the heart of Windy City’s batting order.  Phelps said that given what the relievers witnessed, nothing but a clutch performance was acceptable. 

“Little pitched his ass off today just being able to stay in there,” Phelps said.  ”When Brandon Jones hit that home run, we were so stoked in the bullpen, ready to go.  There was nothing that was going to beat us tonight.”

Southern Illinois’ final pitching line: Nine innings, eight hits, two runs, one earned, four walks and seven strikeouts.  Not hall-of-fame, but exactly what the Miners needed under the do-or-die circumstances.

Holding Windy City’s big 3 in check 

Coles, Mejia and Hawke were the offensive story of Windy City’s series-opening wins.  The trio’s lack of offense in game three was also the story.  

“The key to this series is very simple: keep Coles, Mejia and Hawke off the bases,” Pinto said.  ”Keep them from doing damage.  Those three are very formidable and you really have to pitch to them.  You can’t throw.  You have to pitch.”

Coles entered the game with a playoff-best .667 average and a postseason-leading four hits.  Coles also had four runs scored.  Monday, he had one hit in five at-bats and no runs.  Mejia had three hits in nine at-bats with three runs.  He went 0-for-4 Monday and did not cross home plate.  Hawke (.444 BA) drove in four runs over two games.  He was hitless in four at-bats with no RBIs.

Southern Illinois held Mejia, Coles and Hawke to one hit in 13 at-bats.  The Miners turned Mejia, Coles and Hawke into invisible men.

“That hurt us,” Kashirsky said.  ”That’s what makes us go.  When they get on, things happen.  Chris (Little) did a good job of keeping them off-balance and off base and you see the result of that — two runs.”  

Pinto said before Monday’s game that his defense would adjust to Hawke by using a radical shift when he came to the plate with the bases empty.  The Miners could also use a smaller shift if runners were on base with Hawke at the plate.  They did both in Monday’s win.

Roth played in shallow right field, Mike Scanzano on the first-base side of second and Jones at shortstop when Hawke batted in the ninth inning.  Roth also played in shallow right in the first and sixth innings.  Hawke tried a bunt single to a wide-open third base line early, but it went foul.    

The Miners played deep, but not shifted, with Coles on base and Hawke at the plate in the third.  Little walked Hawke.

Hawke had a chance to start a one-out rally in the ninth after Phelps retired Coles on a fly-out to right.  Hawke grounded to first base, unassisted.  One batter later, the inning was over.  

Phelps earned his first save of the postseason by facing two of Windy City’s “big three.”  For Phelps, the opportunity was a case of payback.  Hawke drove in Friday’s winning run after the Miners intentionally walked Coles to put a double play in order. 

“I wanted to face Hawke again,” Phelps said.  ”He’s a great hitter, a great player, and I wanted to kind of get a little redemption from last time.”

The Miners got a little redemption as a team, Monday.  Tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game at Rent One Park could be the beginning of a comeback series win.  Or, it could be the end of the Miners’ postseason.  If Southern Illinois can do what they did Monday, Miner Details will be covering Thursday’s game five at Windy City.  

MARION — Southern Illinois lives to play at least one more day.

Brandon Jones’ three-run home run in the sixth inning gave Southern Illinois all the offense it would need on a night when starting pitcher Chris Little excelled in the role of stopper.  The result was a 4-2 win over Windy City in front of 2,524 raucous fans Monday at Rent One Park.  

The win ensured Southern Illinois (1-2) at least one more playoff game at home in this best-of-five divisional round of the 2008 Frontier League playoffs.  Windy City now has a 2-1 lead and could move on to the championship round of the playoffs with a win in Tuesday’s 7:05 p.m. game at Rent One Park.

Brendan Akashian snapped a series-long hitless streak with a second-inning solo home run as the Miners jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Windy City starter Stephen Flake.  Jones followed back-to-back singles by Andre Miller and Tony Roth with a towering home run into the pond beyond the left-field fence for a 4-1 advantage in the sixth.

Jones finished with a game-high three RBIs.  Roth had two hits.  

Little’s quality start was a must-have for a Southern Illinois squad desperate for a win.  Little tossed seven innings, allowing five hits and four walks.  Windy City’s one run off Little, which came with two outs in the sixth, was unearned.  Little (1-0) struck out four and hit two batters.

 Akashian threw out two would-be base stealers as Southern Illinois finally put on a commanding performance.  Jake McMurran was charged with one earned run in an inning of relief.  Griffin Bailey pitched the Miners out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth with a 4-2 lead.  Mike Phelps pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the postseason.

Windy City’s Wes Long scored both ThunderBolts’ runs.  Flake threw seven innings, allowing all the Miners’ runs on six hits.  Flake (0-1) struck out three and walked none.  Alain Quijano pitched a scoreless eighth.

Notes:  Southern Illinois has 29 wins and 23 losses in 52 games at Rent One Park this season…Monday marked the first home playoff game in Miners’ history…Windy City stranded 12 base runners…Josh Horn and Scott Billak each had two hits for Windy City…Justin Tellam had Windy City’s only RBI…Windy City out-hit the Miners, 8-7…Southern Illinois stranded four base runners.

Miners’ manager Mike Pinto on the game:  “Huge, huge win.  You saw the sign up there that said “Refuse to Lose.”  Chris Little carried us on his back today and then Jonesy comes up with a huge home run, huge home run.  It just changed the entire energy of the dugout.  With one pitch, with one crack of the bat, it changed the feeling of the dugout.”

Pinto on Akashian:  “Akashian, what a bomb shot that was.  That gave us the early lead.  Gave it back on a tough play — I can’t believe they gave him (Mike Scanzano) an error on that play; it was a tough play — but then Jones comes up with the big three-run home run.”

Pinto on the bullpen:  “I can’t say enough about the guys in the bullpen, either.  McMurran came in, did a great job.  Bailey certainly did an exceptional job and Phelps does what Phelps has done for the time he’s been with us.”

Pinto on Bailey preventing what could have been a disastrous eighth inning:  “No doubt about it.  Bases loaded and to have him come through like that, I mean, he really stepped his game up a whole notch in that inning.”

Pinto on the Rent One Park crowd’s two standing ovations:  “Incredible, incredible.  If I’m Brandon Jones I’ve got goosebumps when that happened.  It started and you could feel a groundswell happen and it got louder and louder and louder.  When he came out of the dugout it went up a whole other level.  The fans were kind of like an extra player with us tonight.”

Little on his start:  “It was definitely a must-have start.  I don’t know what else to say…I really tried to mix it up with these guys.  I’ve faced them a lot and they know that I’m a fastball pitcher and they know I work off my fastball.  My whole game-plan was to throw them off-speed early in the game kind of confuse them a little bit about what my tactics would be in going after them today.  Control, it was definitely an issue, especially later in the game being worn out.  And the emotions can really tire you out.  I’ve seen that now with that being my first playoff game.  It just kind of tired me out a little bit.  Luckily I was able to throw enough pitches to keep out of those situations.”

Roth on reaching on a bunt single ahead of Jones’ three-run homer in the sixth:  “First pitch we were playing for a run right there to try to get on the board…I got lucky.  He (Flake) came in and tried to make a real good play.  He dove and his glove kind of got caught underneath him and luckily it fell in.  It started a big inning for us.  Jonesy stepped up huge after Metro and Timmy (Dorn) were up and that’s a great at-bat by Brandon and that’s the reason we’re coming out here to play tomorrow.”

Jones on his home run:  “It was a changeup.  He just left it up.  The two previous at-bats he did the same exact thing: ball one, changeup; ball one, changeup.  He threw ball one and I was like, ‘Alright.  If you do the same thing I’m looking for your changeup now.’” 

Windy City manager Mike Kashirsky on the loss:  “We’re still positive.  We knew it was going to be tough and Little did a great job keeping us off balance.  We had base runners on.  We just couldn’t get the big hit.  I still like where we’re at.  I wouldn’t trade it being down 1-2 at all…Our guys battled.  We just didn’t get the big hit.”

Kashirsky on Flake:  “He had two bad pitches…really one on that three-run bomb…That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Kashirsky on the crowd:  “This is a tough place to play, no doubt about it.  We’ve got to come in here and grind it out and hopefully get one tomorrow.”  

Windy City 2 (2-1)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Mejia,G 2b...............  4  0  0  0   1  0  0  3   3
Sullivan,M cf............  4  0  1  0   1  2  3  0   3
Coles,M lf...............  5  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
Hawke,P 1b...............  4  0  0  0   1  2  7  0   1
Long,W ss................  4  2  1  0   0  1  2  0   2
Horn,J 3b................  4  0  2  0   0  0  2  3   0
Tellam,J dh..............  3  0  1  1   1  1  0  0   0
Billak,S rf..............  3  0  2  0   0  0  4  0   0
Sawyer,D c...............  3  0  0  0   0  1  4  1   3
Flake,S p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Quijano,A p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34  2  8  1   4  7 24  7  12

SI Miners 4 (1-2)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Miller,A lf..............  3  1  1  0   1  0  1  0   0
Roth,T 2b................  4  1  2  0   0  0  3  2   1
Metropoulous 1b..........  3  0  0  0   1  0  7  1   0
Dorn,T dh................  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
Jones,B 3b...............  4  1  1  3   0  2  1  2   2
Akashian, B. c...........  3  1  1  1   0  0  7  3   1
Suttle,E cf..............  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Scanzano,M ss............  3  0  0  0   0  1  3  2   0
House,K rf...............  3  0  1  0   0  0  3  0   0
Little,C p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Mcmurran,J p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Bailey,G p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Phelps,M p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 30  4  7  4   2  4 27 10   4

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Windy City.......... 000 001 010 -  2  8  0
SI Miners........... 010 003 00X -  4  7  2
-------------------------------------------

E - Miller,A; Scanzano,M. LOB - Thunderbolts 12; Miners 4. 2B - Dorn,T. HR -
Jones,B; Akashian, B. HBP - Long,W; Billak,S; Sawyer,D. SB - House,K. CS -
Mejia,G; Coles,M; Miller,A.

Windy City             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Flake,S.............  7.0  6  4  4  0  3 27 27
Quijano,A...........  1.0  1  0  0  2  1  3  5

SI Miners              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Little,C............  6.0  5  1  0  4  4 23 29
Mcmurran,J..........  1.0  2  1  1  0  1  4  4
Bailey,G............  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  4  5
Phelps,M............  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3

Win - Little,C (1-0).  Loss - Flake,S (0-1).  Save - Phelps,M (1).
HBP - by Little,C (Long,W); by Little,C (Billak,S); by Bailey,G (Sawyer,D).
Umpires - HP: Joe Harris  1B: Jim Schaly  3B: Matt Hughes
Start: 7:05   Time: 2:53   Attendance: 2524
Game notes:
Tomorrow's Starters- SIL-TBA WCY-TBA
Little,C faced 1 batter in the 7th.
Mcmurran,J faced 2 batters in the 8th.

MARION — Talk about pressure.  Southern Illinois can do only one thing tonight to keep its chase for a championship alive.  The Miners must win.

Southern Illinois trails Windy City, 2-0, in the best-of-five 2008 Frontier League division playoffs. The Miners have no margin for error in tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game.  Southern Illinois was anything but sharp in dropping the first two games of this series to the ThunderBolts, the league’s defending champions.

Instead of going volcanic, Miners’ manager Mike Pinto took a different approach in yesterday’s 4 p.m. workout after speaking with a friend who managed at the major league level.  Pinto’s friend told him there was only one thing he could do to help the Miners in tonight’s game: focus on the positive.

“I just reminded them that they were good enough to win,” Pinto said.

Pinto employed a motivational tactic to that point, hanging up color pictures of Tim Dorn, Mike Phelps, Griffin Bailey, Mike Scanzano, Chris Little, Brandon Jones, Ryan Bird, Jake McMurran, Tony Roth, Brendan Akashian and Joey Metropoulos in the clubhouse.  Pinto wrote in those players’ season statistics and accomplishments with a black Sharpie marker.  The phrase “Believe It!” was printed in large, bold font across the bottom of each picture. 

If there was any sense of dread in the Miners’ locker room before the game it wasn’t apparent as players joked and talked amongst themselves.  Bailey and pitching coach Brad Hall discussed Bailey squaring his upper body at the release point of pitches.  Akashian said Sunday’s workout, which lasted about 1 1/2 hours was pretty typical.

Pinto said his focus was simple entering what could be the Miners’ final game. 

“I’m not worried about winning the series,” Pinto said.  ”I’m worried about winning tonight.  I’m worried about winning each inning, each pitch, each at-bat.”

After two days of failing to do those things, any kind of win would probably be welcomed tonight, especially if it reflected itself on the scoreboard.  

Click here for The Southern’s preview story for tonight’s game.

Click here for an updated pre-series notebook.  Click here for the Miners’ schedule and results.  Click here for the newest edition of “Bart’s Diary.”

Click here for tonight’s lineups.

Lineup notes:  Joey Metropoulos will play first base and bat third.  Tim Dorn will hit in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter.  Eric Suttle will patrol centerfield and bat seventh.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano moves up to the No. 8 spot with right fielder Kevin House pulling duty in right field.  Andre Miller will leadoff and play left field.

Around the FL playoffs:  Kalamazoo and Gateway are tied at 1-1.  The Grizzlies took game one, 6-1, before falling Saturday by a 6-0 score.  

Playoff leaders (Miners’ leader) 
Batting average: Mike Coles, Windy City - .667 (Tim Dorn, .375)
Home runs:  Mike Breyman, Gateway, and Mike Russell, Kalamazoo - 1 (No Miners)
RBI: Phil Hawke, Windy City - 4 (Dorn, Joey Metropoulos, Andrew Miller, 2)
Hits: Coles - 6 (Dorn, 3)
Doubles: Hawke - 2 (Metropoulos, 1)
Triples: Gilberto Mejia, Windy City - 1 (No Miners)
On-base percentage: Coles - .727 (Miller, .600)
Slugging percentage: Breyman - 1.000 (Metropoulos, .429)
Extra-base hits: Hawke - 2 (Metropoulos, 1)
Runs scored: Coles - 4 (Miller, 3)

ERA:  Several with 0.00 ERA (Jake McMurran, Mike Phelps, Griffin Bailey, 0.00)
Wins:  Eric Ridener, Gateway; John Brownell, Kalamazoo; Isaac Hess, Windy City; Brandon Garner, Windy City - 1 (No Miners)
Saves:  Joel Boeschen, Windy City - 1 (No Miners)
Strikeouts: Eric Ridener, Gateway - 11 (Ryan Bird, 7)
Games:  Armando Carrasco, SI Miners; Brandon Garner, Windy City - 2
Complete games:  John Brownell, Kalamazoo - 1 (No Miners)
Shutouts:  Brownell - 1 (No Miners)
Innings pitched:  Brownell - 9.0 (Brett Scarpetta, 5.1)
Losses:  Devin Collins, Gateway; Jeff Long, Kalamazoo; Scarpetta, Bird - 1
Walks:  Hess - 8 (Bird, Phelps, Scarpetta, 3)
Home runs allowed:  Collins, Long - 1 (No Miners) 

Tough month:  Southern Illinois has a 1-6 record in September in its two-year history.  The Miners dropped a pair of September games to Evansville last year.  They went 1-2 versus Gateway to close the 2008 season before falling behind, 2-0, to Windy City.

Past performances:  The Miners watched a series of highlights from home games against Windy City on the video board in right field before batting practice.  Pinto asked for the highlight package this morning.  

The always quotable Brendan Akashian:  Leave it to the Miners’ catcher with the quick wit to offer some gallows humor after Southern Illinois committed four errors in Saturday’s 7-2 loss to Windy City.  That loss came on the heels of the Miners dropping an extra-inning game by a run on a night when Windy City had a handful of errors.  “They made seven errors in a game and won,” Akashian said.  ”We decided to see if that would work for us.”

Tonight’s forecast:  Partly sunny with a daytime high of around 85 degrees.  Partly cloudy with a nighttime low around 61 with a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms and showers.  

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Chris Little (9-4, 2.90 ERA) makes his 20th start of the season and his first start of the postseason tonight.  Little allowed 39 earned runs, 106 hits and 35 walks with 94 strikeouts in 121 innings.  Opponents had a .233 average against Little with right-handers batting .202 and lefties carrying a .277 average.  Little had a 4-4 record and 3.03 ERA in 10 starts at Rent One Park with one complete game.  He held opponents to a .231 average at R.O.P.  Little (1-1) split a pair of starts with a 4.38 ERA against Windy City.  He struck out five and walked seven in 12.1 innings and held the ThunderBolts to a .255 batting average.  The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Little has a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a changeup, a curveball and a slider.     

Windy City right-hander Stephen Flake (10-3, 4.04 ERA) makes his 20th start of the season and first postseason start tonight.  Flake allowed 53 earned runs, 116 hits and 55 walks with 83 strikeouts in 118 innings.  Opponents batted .260 against Flake with right-handers hitting .270 and lefties carding a .246 average.  Flake went 7-1 with a 4.82 ERA in 11 road starts.  Flake was 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts against the Miners.  He struck out 13 and walked nine in 21.1 innings.  The Miners batted .236 against Flake.  The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Flake has a mid-80s fastball, a curveball, a changeup and a slider. 

We’ll be back after the ThunderBolts take their first-inning at-bats…

First pitch, strike, 7:10 p.m. CDT

First inning:
Right-hander Chris Little held the ThunderBolts scoreless in the first.  Second baseman Gilberto Mejia grounded a 1-2 pitch to first base, unassisted.  Center fielder Mike Sullivan grounded out, 3-1, on a 1-0 pitch.  Left fielder Mike Coles lined a single to right on a 1-2 offering.  The Miners shifted their infield towards first base with first baseman Phil Hawke at the plate.  Second baseman Tony Roth set up in shallow right with shortstop Mike Scanzano right behind the second base bag.  Third baseman Brandon Jones played near shortstop and wrapped his glove around Hawke’s popup to third base for the final out.    

Windy City right-hander Stephen Flake retired the side in order.  Left fielder Andre Miller grounded out, 5-3, on a 2-2 pitch.  Second baseman Tony Roth flied-out to right on a 1-2 offering.  First baseman Joey Metropoulos flied a 1-1 pitch to right for an out.  0-0.

Second inning:
Little allowed a pair of two-out base runners in a scoreless second inning.  Shortstop Wes Long grounded out, 6-3, on a 0-1 pitch.  Third baseman Josh Horn lifted a 0-1 pitch to left for a fly-out.  Designated hitter Justin Tellam drew a five-pitch walk.  Right fielder Scott Billak singled a 2-1 offering to left.  Tellam moved to second base.  Catcher Danny Sawyer struck out swinging in a four-pitch at-bat.   

Catcher Brendan Akashian broke out of a series-long hitless streak with a solo home run off Flake.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn flied-out to center after fouling off a full-count offering.  Third baseman Brandon Jones struck out swinging in an eight-pitch at-bat.  Akashian hammered a 1-2 pitch off the top of the Silkworm sign above the Miners’ bullpen in right field for a 1-0 lead.  Center fielder Eric Suttle flied-out to right on a 2-0 pitch.  1-0 Miners.

Third inning:
Little gave up a hit and pitched around Hawke in a scoreless third.  Mejia flied-out to right on a 2-2 offering.  Sullivan grounded a 1-2 pitch past a diving Jones at third base for a single.  Coles grounded a 2-2 pitch into a 5-4 fielder’s choice.  Sullivan was retired at second base.  Southern Illinois did not shift its infield defense with Hawke at-bat and Coles on first, though Roth did play in shallow right field.  Hawke took a four-pitch walk.  Coles advanced to second base.  Long’s first-pitch 6-3 groundout ended the inning.   

The Miners stranded a base runner in scoring position in the third.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano fouled off a full-count pitch before popping up to shortstop.  Right fielder Kevin House dumped a 1-2 pitch into right for an opposite-field single.  House stole second base on a 1-1 ball to Miller.  Miller grounded out, 4-3, on Flake’s next pitch.  Roth flied-out to left on a 2-1 pitch.  1-0 Miners.

Fourth inning:
Little tossed another zero onto the scoreboard in the fourth.  Horn grounded out, 4-3, on the first pitch of his at-bat.  Tellam was called out on strikes on a 1-2 fastball.  Billak lined a 1-2 offering to centerfield for a single.  Sawyer grounded a 1-0 pitch into a 5-4 fielder’s choice.  Billak was retired at second base.   

Southern Illinois picked up its third extra-base of the postseason in the fourth, but could not add a run to its lead.  Metropoulos popped-up to the first baseman in foul territory.  Dorn doubled a full-count offering off the base of the left-center wall.  Jones lined-out to third on a 1-0 pitch.  Akashian flied-out to center on a 1-1 pitch.  1-0 Miners.

Fifth inning:
Little pitched another shutout inning with an assist from Akashian.  Mejia reached on a four-pitch walk.  Mejia was caught stealing, 2-6, on Little’s second pitch to Sullivan.  Sullivan swung through a full-count fastball.  Coles ended the inning with a first-pitch popup to Roth.    

Flake retired the side in order in the fifth.  Suttle grounded a 0-1 pitch into a 4-3 out.  Scanzano was called out on strikes as he watched a 2-2 off-speed pitch find the catcher’s mitt.  House pulled a 1-1 pitch to left for a fly-out.  1-0 Miners.

Sixth inning:
Windy City tied the game with an unearned run in the sixth inning.  Southern Illinois radically shifted its infield alignment with Hawke at the plate.  Roth again played shallow right field with Scanzano in shallow right-center on the first base side of second.  Jones played shortstop.  Hawke swung through what appeared to be a 2-2 curveball.  Little hit Long with a 0-2 pitch.  Horn dumped a 1-1 pitch into left for a single.  Long moved to second base.  Tellam flied out to right on a 2-1 pitch.  Little hit Billak with a 2-2 pitch to load the bases.  Long moved to third, Horn advanced to second.  Pitching coach Brad Hall went to the mound for a conference as the Miners’ bullpen remained quiet.  Scanzano’s fielding error on Sawyer’s ground ball to shortstop allowed Long to score from third and kept the bases loaded.  Tellam moved to third, Billak to second.  Mejia grounded out, 3-1, on a 1-1 pitch to end the inning.   

Brandon Jones electrified the Rent One Park crowd with a towering three-run home run off Flake.  Right-hander Jake McMurran tossed in the Miners’ bullpen as Miller stepped to the plate.  Miller lined a 1-2 pitch to left-center for a single.  Roth reached on a bunt single he popped-up off the glove of a diving flake.  Lefty Alain Quijano  and right-handed submariner Brian McCullough warmed up in the Windy City bullpen.  Metropoulos’ fly-out to right advanced Miller to third base.  Roth stayed at first base.  Dorn was called out on strikes in a four-pitch at-bat.  Jones just absolutely destroyed a 1-0 pitch, sending it soaring over the left-field fence for a splash-down three-run homer.  Akashian flied-out to the warning track in centerfield on a 1-2 pitch.  4-1 Miners. 

Seventh inning:
The old fashioned strike ‘em, throw ‘em out double play contributed to a scoreless seventh.  Little came back out for the seventh inning as McMurran continued throwing in the Miners’ bullpen.  Sullivan reached on an eight-pitch walk.  Manager Mike Pinto came out of the dugout to replace Little with McMurran (1 G, 0.00 ERA).  Little left to a standing ovation.  Coles grounded a 0-2 pitch into a 4-6 fielder’s choice.  Sullivan was retired at second base.  No shift in Hawke’s fourth plate appearance.  Hawke struck out swinging on a full-count pitch and Akashian nailed Coles at second base for a double play.
Little’s line:  6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 2 HB. 

Flake returned for the seventh inning and held the Miners scoreless.  Right-hander Griffin Bailey tossed in the Miners’ bullpen as Suttle popped a 2-1 pitch up to shortstop.  Scanzano grounded out, 5-3, on the first pitch of his at-bat.  House grounded out, 6-3, on a 0-1 offering.  4-1 Miners.

Eighth inning:
Southern Illinois withstood a Windy City rally, holding the ‘Bolts to one run in an inning that could have been much worse.  McMurran took the mound again in the eighth.  Long singled to left and reached second on Miller’s fielding error.  Horn dumped a single to right on a 0-1 pitch that moved Long to third.  Pinto replaced McMurran with right-hander Griffin Bailey (1 G, 0.00 ERA) with runners on the corners and no outs.  Tellam’s infield single scored Long from third base.  Horn advanced to second base.  Suttle made a diving catch on Billak’s line drive to center on a 2-2 pitch.  Bailey hit Sawyer with a 0-1 pitch.  Pinto briefly discussed the call with home plate ump Joe Harris as Horn moved to third base, Tellam to second.  Mejia grounded into a first-pitch 3-2 fielder’s choice that erased Horn at the plate.  Tellam took over at third and Sawyer moved to second base.  Sullivan struck out swinging on a 1-2 pitch in the dirt.  
McMurran’s line:  0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.  

Southern Illinois missed on a great scoring opportunity in the eighth.  Lefty Alain Quijano (1 G, 0.00 ERA) took over for Flake.  Miller took a four-pitch base-on-balls.  Roth pulled back a bunt for a ball, faked a bunt on a 1-0 pitch and swung for a single to center that moved Miller to second base.  Right-hander Mike Phelps warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Miller was caught going for third base on a double steal in a 2-2 count with Metropoulos at the plate.  Roth made it to second base.  Metro fouled off three two-strike pitches before taking a nine-pitch walk.  Dorn’s 4-3 groundout on a 1-1 pitch moved Roth to third and Metro to second.  Windy City manager Mike Kashirsky went to the mound with Jones do to bat.  Jones fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before swinging through a 2-2 offering.   4-2 Miners. 
Flake’s line:  7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO. 

Ninth inning:
Right-handed closer Mike Phelps (1 G, 0.00 ERA) put this one in the books with a perfect ninth.  Coles lifted a 0-1 pitch to shallow right for a fly-out.  The shift was again on for Hawke, who grounded out to first base, unassisted, on a full-count pitch.  Long struck out swinging on three pitches to end the game.  Final score:  4-2 Miners.