SE Illinois News

You have to dig for it, but there were some highlights in an otherwise lackluster season for the Southern Illinois Miners, which wrapped up their year recently with a 39-57 record in the Frontier League.

The Miners started the season on a high note, claiming an 11-1 victory over the Evansville Otters on opening night. They racked up 15 hits in the game. 

The next highlight came a few weeks later, when Southern Illinois topped the River City Rascals 6-5 in an 11-inning game.The Miners were down by a run or more on three occasions in the game but fought back and secured the win on a walk-off single by Ryan Lashley in the 11th.

The Miners then hit a rough patch, losing eight of their next nine games to the Washington Wild Things, Traverse City Beach Bums and Florence Freedom. 

Southern Illinois won 14 games during June, breaking out of their losing streak with a 10-8 victory over the Normal Cornbelters. The Miners fell behind early in the game and were down 4-0 going into the seventh inning, when they rallied for eight runs and the lead.

In the final game of their series against Normal, the Miners erupted for a record 21 runs in a 21-4 win. The team set a Frontier League record with 15 runs in the fourth and came up one run short of setting a team record for most runs in a game. They swept the series against Normal.

The Miners wrapped up the season against the River City Rascals, dropping their first two games before winning the third 2-0.

Lashley finished the season as the team leader in home runs and RBIs, with 13 and 66, respectively. London Lindley finished with the best batting average on the team, at .291, and led the team with 24 stolen bases.

On the mound, Zach Cooper recorded six wins and led the team with 94 strikeouts. Austin Dubsky notched 58 strikeouts, with 58. 

For more information on the Southern Illinois Miners season, visit www.siminers.com.