July 4

Wow, it does not seem possible that we have been away from the friendly confines of Rent One Park for a week! 

The Miners just concluded a very successful road trip, winning five out of six games with teams that are in our division.  Being on the road sounds like it would be like being on a holiday.  For those players who have family visit or special friends come to games, the road trips take on a special meaning.  For instance, Mike Victor, Kevin Koski and Griffin Bailey are from the Chicago area and had family members visit when we were at Windy City.  Those are special times because baseball players like to know there is someone in the stands “cheering” for them. 

Sounds “high school”?  Well, it’s not! 

The daily grind of being a professional baseball player gets tiring and boring.  Seeing familiar faces and having the chance to share a meal with them is special.  When we were in Evansville, we had several fans travel from Marion and the surrounding area to root us on, and we do appreciate that support.

I am asked on occasion what it is like to be a professional baseball player.  It sounds so glamorous and exciting.  It is for those players that are performing to their level of expectation.  However, the pressure of putting up good numbers…ie a good batting average for a position player and a good earned run average for a pitcher…gets to be overwhelming for some players. 

If you are a highly touted player, there is additional pressure.  Add to this mixture the fact that the Frontier League is not a developmental league, which means that we don’t usually have the time to wait for a player to correct his swing or pitching mechanics.  This league is all about performance. 

Baseball is a game about performance and unfortunately a tremendous amount of emphasis is placed on statistics.  We might like a player, like his attitude and his  chemistry in the clubhouse, however, if his numbers are not what we need, then changes have to be made. 

Mike Pinto takes the player’s future very seriously and has always attempted to find a place for the player to play whenever possible.  An example would be Brad Arnett!  Mike knew that Brad needed to play every day and would not do so at Marion, so he found a place (Washington Wildthings) who would give Brad a chance to play 3rd base every day.  We found a place for Josh Farkes in the Can-Am league and frankly, the coaching staff feels better that he is getting his chance to play everyday. 

One of our fans suggested that I do a blog on “baseball jargon” and “lingo” so you now know what my next one will be about. 

I hope you and your family have a very happy and safe fourth of July!  I look forward to seeing each and every one of you at Rent One Park. 

Go Miners!

Bart Zeller, Coach
Southern Illinois Miners

MARION — Southern Illinois got a great performance out of starter Chris Little and a couple nifty defensive plays from three other all-stars to shut out River City, 2-0, at Rent One Park before a holiday crowd of 6,015.

The Miners set a tone of team unity in pre-game introductions when they came out as a team instead of individually.

Little was all-star dominant for seven innings.  He struck out seven, walked one and allowed six hits.  Fellow all-star Griffin Bailey pitched two innings to close the door on the Rascals, who were held scoreless for only the second time this season.  Little improved his record to 5-1.  Bailey picked up his second save.

All-star third baseman Brandon Jones made a diving catch on what could have been a run-scoring hit off the bat of River City catcher Andrew Sweet with a man on second in the ninth inning.  Bailey started a 1-6-3 double play with a man on third and one out in the eight.

Rascals starter Scott Fogelson, who’s also an all-star, went seven innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and a pair of walks.  Fogelson struck out two as his record dropped to 2-4.

Tony Roth scored twice, once in the fourth and once in the sixth, and had two hits in four at-bats.  Brad Miller’s run-scoring single plated Roth, who reached on a single, for the Miners’ first tally.  A Joey Metropoulos single gave Southern Illinois its final run.  Roth’s double to left-center after first baseman William Basom dropped a running catch in foul territory gave Roth a second chance.  

The Miners have won four straight and improved their record to 23-20.  The win marked the first time Southern Illinois has been three games over .500 this season.  River City dropped to 21-22, two games behind the first-place Miners.

Southern Illinois hosts River City in game two of the three-game series on Saturday.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Pinto on Little’s start:  “Little did an exceptional job tonight.  He got a little tired there (in the eighth) and we tried to get him a little help and Bailey did a great job of coming in and saving it for him.”

Pinto on the ability to go all-star, all-star in a game:  “If I can’t win a game with those two guys (Little and Bailey), you don’t have much chance.”

Pinto on the pre-game introduction:  “Mike Scanzano had to be the ringleader of that.  I haven’t asked, but my bet is that Scanzano was the ringleader.  ’No, we’ll do it together.’  I can hear it now.”

Pinto on Jones’ diving catch and other defensive gems:  “Boy I tell ya, the play by Jones.  Everybody stood up — standing ovation.  It was incredible.  The play Scanzano made in the hole, that was a tremendous play.”

Pinto on Fogelson’s start:  “He’s also an all-star and I think with two all-star starters you expect a game that’s going to be pretty close.  We were trying — How can we find a way to eke out a run and give Chris Little something to work with?”

Pinto on Roth’s second-chance double:  “He just finds a way to get on base.  And two stolen bases?  Key stolen bases.  You’re stealing third and putting runs on in a game when not many runs are being scored.”

Little on his efficient start:  “I wasn’t really keeping track of pitches as far as a pitch count, but I knew it was pretty low because there were some guys swinging and getting outs on first pitches.”

Little on the importance of the game:  “Right now, this is a game that we definitely have to win.  We’ve got a team goal of ours.  We really want to beat these guys in a series and give our coaches a good chance to take the all-star team…It’s well-deserved.”

Little on the defense:  “They do what they do.  We’re always glad to get back home because it’s a lot more comfortable to play on the field that we’re on as opposed to playing on some of the fields on the road that aren’t very smooth fields.”

Little on the all-star vs. all-star pitching matchup:  “I would usually say, ‘Yes, it would add something,’ (but) my biggest thing was the fact that I knew we needed to win tonight and I wanted to get my numbers down before the all-star break.  But even more importantly, the last time I faced these guys I didn’t really feel I threw a game where I gave up six earned runs.  I wanted to get them into our ballpark, which is bigger, and they were going to have to hit the ball into gaps.  Luckily I was able to make enough good pitches to be able to do that.  That was my biggest thing.”

Little on the atmosphere on the field after these two teams cleared the benches in their last series:  “I think that everything was squashed by both teams.  The commissioner (Bill Lee) came down and put his foot down and I think both teams understand the consequences and I don’t think it’s worth it (to have another incident).  Really, it wasn’t something that was between players in the first place.  It’s not like there’s bad blood between players out there.  I’ll shake those guys’ hands just like they’ll come up to me.  Sometimes you get two teams who are really shooting for something and it can get ugly, but I don’t think there will be any problems.”

River City manager Toby Rumfield on Little:  “You’ve got to give Little credit.  That was probably the best pitching performance we’ve seen all year…He did his job and guys made plays behind him, too.  My goodness.  You couldn’t get anything up the middle and we couldn’t get anything.  You’ve got to tip your hat.”

Rumfield on Fogelson:  “Fogelson did a great job, too.  He’s been pitching the ball well all year.  That’s one thing we done consistently all year: we’ve pitched the ball well.  We had a chance there at the end and we didn’t execute and when you don’t execute, you don’t win.”

Rumfield on the dropped foul popup:  “Will (Basom) came a long way to make that play and usually when you come that far to make a play like that, bad things are going to happen.  You can’t fault him there.  He was coming full speed and getting close to the wall and it just fell.  Of course, however baseball goes you almost know that guy (Roth) is going to get a hit.  You know, they scored two runs and we scored zero.”

Jones on his stab:  “At that point in time, Pinto called for no doubles.  All I was thinking was, ‘I can’t let the ball go through his (Scanzano’s) side,’  not, ‘Is this closer to me?’  Anything I can do, I’ve got to knock it down or try to stop it because a runner would move into scoring position.”

Jones on the close, low-scoring game:  “That’s real baseball right there.  Not that stuff we played at River City.”

Jones on the on-field atmosphere after the events of the previous series:  “It was the same as going into any other series.  As you recall, there was nothing said amongst the players during that series.  It was basically the coaches so we just came out and played the game.  It was our understanding that we were just going to go out and play the game.  That’s what happened.”

Roth on getting a second chance and doubling:  “Yeah, no kidding.  They dropped that ball.  I got another inside fastball, the same pitch I got jammed on, and I was able to put the barrel on it and hit a double.”

Roth on stealing third before he came home for the second run:  “It’s so much easier on a hitter, especially those guys in the middle of our order, to hit with a runner on third and less than two outs.  They can just put a ball in play and most of the time you’ll get a run.”

Roth on Jones’ catch:  “Shoot, he scooted over a little bit to play no doubles.  He’s a heckuva an athlete, a great player, and he’s done that countless times.”

Roth on the pre-game introduction:  “It was just kind of just kind of goofing around, saying we’ll something different.  When we ran out I bet Pinto was like, ‘What are these guys doing?’  I kind of looked at him when we were running out and he was kind of worried where everybody was at.  It was just a little laugh, just us guys having fun.”

Roth on Little:  “Aw man, he’s great.  He’s just a heckuva competitor.  Anytime he’s on the mound he’s the guy you want.  He threw well tonight and we were able to get the ‘W’ for him.”

Roth on the atmosphere on the field after the events of the first series:  “It was a really good game.  There are no problems between any of the players at all.  We all got along over there.  There were no scuffles amongst the players.  They’ve got a good group of guys and a good team and we’re both out here to win.  We’re not out here for that extracurricular stuff.”   

Score by inning    R H E
RVC 000 000 000 - 0 8 1
SIL   000 101 00X - 2 6 0

E - Basom, W; Wehrle, R. DP - Miners 1. LOB - Rascals 8; Miners 5. 2B -
Barganier, L; Roth, T. SH - Akashian, B. SB - Van Slyke, A; Roth, T.

Rascals
Fogelson…….7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 25 AB, 28 BF
Estrella……….1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3 AB, 3 BF

SI Miners
Little………..7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 27 AB, 28 BF
Bailey……….2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 7 AB, 7 BF 

Win - Little, C (5-1).  Loss - Fogelson, S (2-4).  Save - Bailey, G (1).
Umpires - HP: Dan O'Connell; 1B: Bruce Doane; 3B: Joe Harris
Start: 7:08   Time: 2:16   Attendance: 6015
Little, C faced 2 batters in the 8th.

MARION — Sorry we’re running late.  We’re not going to have much on top other than this link to the pre-series notebook.  

Tonight’s weather:  Thirty percent chance of isolated thunderstorms with clear skies after midnight.  Low of 63 degrees with winds from the north at five to 10 miles per hour.

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Chris Little (4-1, 3.88 ERA) takes on Rascals left-hander Scott Fogelson (2-3, 3.83 ERA). 

Quick note:  The Miners came out of their tunnel during pre-game introductions as a single unit instead of individually.  That should give you some insight into their mindset entering this series.

We’ll be back after the Rascals at-bat…

First pitch, strike, 7:08 p.m.

First inning:
Starter Chris Little was sharp as he retired the Rascals in order with 11 pitches.  Little struck out center fielder Luke Bargainer on three pitches.  Second baseman Brad Hough grounded out, 5-3, on four pitches.  Designated hitter Will Basom grounded out to first, unassisted.  

River City lefty Scott Fogelson sat the Miners down in order.  Center fielder Kevin Koski grounded out to first base, unassisted.  Second baseman Tony Roth grounded out, 5-3.  First baseman Brad Miller hit to the same spot with the same result.  0-0.

Second inning:
Little gave up a hit, but pretty much mowed the Rascals down.  Right fielder A.J. Van Slyke struck out on three pitches.  Catcher Andrew Sweet went down swinging on five pitches.  Left fielder Jeff Miller fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before he looped a single to center.  Third baseman Ryan Wehrle grounded into a 5-4 fielder’s choice at second base.   

Southern Illinois went down in order for the second inning in a row.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn grounded out, 6-3.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos flied-out to right.  Third baseman Brandon Jones grounded out, 4-3.  0-0.

Third inning:
Little pitched another shutout inning.  Designated hitter Phil Laurent grounded out, 4-3.  Shortstop Greg Stone singled.  Bargainer and Hough both flied-out to center.

Southern Illinois got the leadoff runner on but could not push a run across.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano took a walk.  Catcher Brendan Akashian struck out swinging. Left fielder Eric Suttle popped-out in foul territory on a bunt attempt.  Koski flied out to right.  0-0. 

Fourth inning:
Little is tough tonight.  He got Basom to pop to shortstop.  Vans Slyke bunted his way on base and stole second.  Sweet flied-out to left.  Miller grounded to first, unassisted.  

The Miners got their second leadoff runner on for the second time tonight and got their first run out of it.  Roth singled to left.  Miller took a walk.  Roth moved to third on Dorn’s 4-3 groundout.  Metropoulos’ single scored Roth.  Jones struck out swinging to end the inning.   1-0 Miners.

Fifth inning:
Little allowed two base runners for the first time tonight, but got out of the inning with no damage.  Wehrle struck out swinging.  Laurent grounded out, 4-3.  Stone took a base-on-balls.  Bargainer’s single advanced Stone to second.  Scanzano made a great play deep in the shortstop hole and followed with a strong throw across his body for the final out.  They should elect that guy to an all-star team or something.

Quiet inning for the Miners.  Scanzano grounded out, 6-3.  Akashian followed with a 4-3 groundout.  Suttle singled.  Koski flied-out to foul territory in left for the final out.  1-0 Miners.

Sixth inning:
Little is simply dominating and notched his second two-strikeout inning of the night.  He struck out Basom and Sweet swinging for the first and third outs.  Van Slyke grounded out, 4-3.  

Do not give Tony Roth a second chance or he’ll make you pay.  Roth appeared to pop-out in foul territory to Basom at first base but he dropped the ball after a good sprint.  Roth followed with a double to the left-center gap.  Roth stole third ahead of Miller’s single for a 2-0 lead.  Dorn, Metropoulos and Jones flied out to right, left and left, respectively.  2-0 Miners.

Seventh inning:
Good luck pulling this one away from Little.  Miller and Wehrle both grounded out, 6-3.  Little picked up his seventh strikeout when Laurent whiffed for strike three.  

The Miners got a runner into scoring position with less than two outs but did not score.  Scanzano led off with a single.  Akashian sacrificed him to second base.  Suttle flied-out to center.  Scanzano advanced to third.  Koski grounded out, 4-3.  2-0 Miners.

Eighth inning:
Little ran into his first spot of trouble and manager Mike Pinto went to reliever Griffin Bailey (3-2, 2.03 ERA), who got the Miners out of the jam.  Bradley Goldsmith came in for Metropoulos and took over in left.  Suttle moved to right.  Stone led off with a single to left.  Bargainer’s double advanced Stone to third.  Hough grounded to Jones at third.  Jones fired the ball to Akashian, who blocked the plate for the 5-2 fielder’s choice.  Bargainer made it to third.  Bailey’s heads-up play on a come-backer started a 1-6-3 double play.

Right-hander Luis Estrella (0-0, 3.52 ERA) came in for Fogelson and sat the Miners down in order.  Roth flied-out to right.  Miller and Dorn struck out swinging.  2-0 Miners.

Ninth inning:
A pair of Miners all-stars closed this one out.  Bailey tossed another scoreless inning.  Jones made a highlight reel play.  Van Slyke led off with a single.  Jones made a diving catch to his left on a ball Sweet hammered towards the gap between third and short.  Miller singled.  Van Slyke moved to second.  Wehrle hit a shot to Jones, who fielded the ball and ran down Van Slyke for an unassisted fielder’s choice.  Laurent grounded out, 4-3, to end the game.  Final score:  2-0 Miners.

We’ll be back with a post-game wrap…  

MARION — Cubs vs. Cardinals.  Yankees vs. Red Sox.  Miners vs. Rascals?

Sure, this weekend’s three-game series between Southern Illinois and River City doesn’t have millions of Major League Baseball fans on the edges of their seats, but that doesn’t mean this budding rivalry isn’t becoming “big league.”

“It is kind of like a Boston-Yankees series, huh?” asked former Rascal and new Miners catcher Randy Rosa.

If you haven’t heard, this Miners vs. Rascals matchup has its fair share of intrigue and meaning aside from the standings.  There were two bench-clearing incidents, a fireworks delay that got the Miners a little peeved, and three wild clashes with late-innings comebacks that forced me to rip up my game stories mulitple times during each contest.  Southern Illinois lost game one, 7-6.  The Miners took game two, 15-10, in 10 innings.  They wrapped up the series with a 9-7 win.  

When Southern Illinois and River City met two weeks ago, the Miners (12-6) were four games under .500 and searching for a string of wins to get them out of the basement and on a roll after they lost seven times in a brutal nine-game stretch.  The Rascals (16-11) were in first place after sweeping Evansville at home.  The Miners took 2-of-3 games at River City, which included a game-three win that was the equivalent of a two-game swing.  Southern Illinois left River City three games back after the win.  Had the Miners lost they would have been five games back.

Now it’s the streaking Miners, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games, in first place and the Rascals are floundering after seven losses during that same stretch.  The Miners have a massive fireworks display scheduled after the game, but don’t be surprised if the on-field product gives fans some explosions before the stadium lights go dim and pyrotechnics brighten the night sky.

The Miners enter the weekend in a first-place tie with Gateway and Windy City.  Those three teams are each 22-20.  One game behind the leaders is a Rascals’ team that sits at 21-21.  Welcome to the Frontier League West, where everybody is a player heading into next week’s all-star break.

If you can’t tell, I’m pumped for this one.  Let’s get down to business with some notes.

Pitching pitching in:  Southern Illinois team ERA (4.97) has dropped under five and moved the team to the top half of the Frontier League.  It’s not surprising that the Miners have started winning multiple games when their arms started matching their bats.

About those bats:  The Miners have the No. 2 batting average in the league.  Southern Illinois leads the league in runs and hits.

Going, going, gone:  2008 All-Star third baseman Brandon Jones is tied for the league lead in home runs, with 11.  Tim Dorn is heating up and has gone deep nine times.  All-Star reserve outfielder Willie Keene has eight bombs.  First baseman Brad Miller has two-run homers in his last two games.

Bird is the word:  Starting pitcher Ryan Bird’s 56 strikeouts rank second in the league.  He’s tied for third with one shutout.  Bird (5-3) is tied for No. 3 in wins.  All-Star pitcher Chris Little (4-1) could join Bird with five wins if things go his way Friday.

The bats’ last 10 games:  The Miners are batting .296 with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs…Dorn has been a difference-maker with a .385 average (15-for-39), four home runs, 12 runs scored and 11 RBIs…Miller has a .310 average (9-for-29), two home runs and eight RBIs…Brendan Akashian (.285) has a home run and 10 RBIs…Bradley Goldsmith (.346) has a pair of homers and eight RBIs…All-Star shortstop Mike Scanzano is hitting .323 and has crossed home plate seven times…Joey Metropoulos (.225) added eight runs and is tied for first in the league with 38 runs scored…Kevin Koski (.278) has 11 runs scored.

Miners’ pitching in the last 10:  The Miners’ pitching staff has a 3.13 ERA with 31 earned runs, 74 strikeouts, 33 walks and 83 hits…Ryan Bird (2-0), Chris Little (2-0), Reid Price (1-0), Brett Scarpetta (2-0) and Nick Starnes (0-1) are 7-1 in their last 10 starts…Bird (0.69 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) has given up one earned run in 13 innings with 16 strikeouts and four walks…Little (2.77 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) pitched 13 innings and gave up four earned runs with eight strikeouts and four walks…Price (1.64 ERA, 0.73 WHIP) has given up one earned run in 11 innings with eight strikeouts and one base-on-balls…Scarpetta (2.31 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) has allowed three earned runs on 11 hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 11.2 innings…Armando Carrasco has two saves…The starters have a combined 2.25 ERA. 

Miners’ bats vs. Rascals’ pitching:  Southern Illinois hit .283 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs against the Rascals…The Miners had 32 hits in 113 at-bats…Tony Roth was electric with seven hits, three home runs and eight RBIs in 14 at-bats for a 1.000 slugging percentage (SLG)…Roth’s on-base percentage (OBP) was .588…Eric Suttle batted .273 with a homer and six RBIs…Keene went 3-for-10 with a home run and four RBIs…Jones’ two-run homer in the 10th inning of game two was the game-winner even though the Miners put three more runs on the scoreboard…Southern Illinois scored 30 runs in the series.

Miners’ pitching vs. Rascals’ bats:  The Miners staff had a 7.24 ERA and allowed 22 runs in 27.1 innings…Southern Illinois struck out 31 and walked 16…The staff allowed five home runs…Kevin Dooley (1-0) pitched three shutout innings for a win…Price, Little and Starnes had no-decisions…All-Star relief pitcher Griffin Bailey went 1-1 with an 11.57 ERA.

Rascals’ pitching vs. Miners’ bats:  River City’s pitching staff had an 8.68 ERA and allowed 27 earned runs in 28 innings on 32 hits and 19 walks…The Rascals struck out the Miners 23 times…All-Star reliever Mike Benacka (1-0, 9.00 ERA) picked up the Rascals’ only win with a one-run inning…No Rascals starter figured in a decision…Chris Clem went 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA…Former Miner Brian Logan (0-1, 18.00 ERA) allowed four earned runs in two innings.

Rascals’ bats vs. Miners’ pitching:  River City batted .299 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in three games…The Rascals scored 24 runs…OF Luke Bargainer (.455) went 5-for-11…OF A.J. Van Slyke was a terror with a .429 batting average, three home runs, six RBIs and six hits in 14 at-bats…Van Slyke had a 1.000 SLG and a .500 OBP…C Andrew Sweet (.417) had four doubles and five RBIs.

Game times:
Fri. - 7:05 p.m.*
Sat. - 7:05 p.m.*
Sun. - 7:05 p.m.*
* All games aired on WQUL 97.7 FM 

Weather forecast:
Fri. - Thirty percent chance of isolated thunderstorms with clear skies after midnight.  Low of 63 degrees with winds from the north at five to 10 miles per hour.
Sat. - Clear skies with a high of 85 and a low of around 65 with light and variable winds.
Sun. - Mainly clear skies with a high of 89 and winds from the south at 5-10 mph.

Probable pitchers:
Fri. - RHP Chris Little (4-1, 3.88 ERA) vs. LHP Scott Fogelson (2-3, 3.83 ERA)
Sat. - RHP Chris Allen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Clem (3-4, 5.16 ERA)
Sun. - LHP Reid Price (2-1, 3.30 ERA) vs. RHP Daniel Powers (2-3, 4.60 ERA)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Southern Illinois Miners had five players voted into the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game to be held at Traverse City July 14-16.  

Southern Illinois tied Windy City for most all-star selections.

“I’m really proud of the guys who were selected,” Miners manager Mike Pinto said.  ”It’s apparent that they all worked really hard in the offseason to prepare to get off to a good start.  I couldn’t be more proud of them.  It’s an honor that our team has five guys among the leaders in the league for the most all-stars.”

Third baseman Brandon Jones, shortstop Mike Scanzano, outfielder Willie Keene, starting pitcher Chris Little and reliever Griffin Bailey were all voted to the team by league managers, coaches and media representatives.

Scanzano (.301 BA) leads FL shortstops with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.  He has 46 hits, 12 doubles and 23 RBIs.  This will be Scanzno’s second all-star appearance.  He was a reserve in 2007.  

“It’s an awesome award to achieve,” Scanzano said.  ”It was a goal of mine before the season started.  I’ve got a couple more goals I plan on getting to.”

Jones (.285 BA) is tied for the league lead in home runs, with 11, and is among the leaders in RBIs, with 37, in his first Frontier League season.  

“I’m excited.  This is my first all-star team in professional baseball,” Jones said.  ”Words can’t explain it.  It’s a cool feeling.  There are great players here.  Sometimes the Frontier League gets underrated and I was one of those people who underrated the Frontier League until I got here and saw the caliber of players who are here.”

Little (4-1, 3.88 ERA) made no secret of his desire to make the team throughout the first half of the season.  His numbers backed up his first FL all-star selection.  The right-handed Little has 42 strikeouts and 19 walks and leads the Miners in innings pitched.  

“It’s just a big relief because I really prepared myself in the offseason to be the best I could be and to help my team win ball games,” Little said.  ”To be recognized for that effort is just huge for me.”

Keene will make his FL all-star appearance based on the strength of his .288 batting average, eight home runs and 24 RBIs.  Bailey has a 2.03 ERA with a 3-2 record in 21 appearances out of the bullpen.  Opponents are batting .221 against the first-time all-star.

2008 Frontier League All-Star rosters

West All-Stars
1B – Phillip Hawke – Windy City
2B – Joe Anthonsen – Rockford
3B – Brandon Jones – Southern Illinois
SS – Mike Scanzano – Southern Illinois
INF – Mike Breyman – Gateway
INF – Gilberto Mejia – Windy City
OF – Michael Campbell – Gateway
OF – Michael Coles – Windy City*
OF – Stephen Holdren – Gateway 
OF – Willie Keene – Southern Illinois
DH – Jason James – Rockford 
C – Charlie Lisk – Gateway 
C – Tom Pennino – Evansville 
P – Griffin Bailey – Southern Illinois
P – Garrett Bauer – Rockford 
P – Mike Benacka – River City*
P – Steve Flake – Windy City
P – Scott Fogelson – River City
P – Jonathan Lewis – Evansville 
P – Chris Little – Southern Illinois
P – Jason Lowey – Windy City

East All-Stars
1B – Angel Molina – Florence
2B – Billy Mottram – Florence
3B – Adrian Cantu – Chillicothe 
SS – Kyle Kmiecik – Kalamazoo
INF – Travis Garcia – Chillicothe
INF – Robbie Knapp – Washington
OF – Mike Epping – Traverse City
OF – Mike Goetz – Traverse City
OF – Chris Sidick – Washington
OF – Jake Whitesides – Traverse City
DH – Jacob Dempsey - Washington 
C – Mike Russell – Kalamazoo
C – Eddy Gonzalez – Florence 
P – John Brownell – Kalamazoo 
P – Cody Castle – Florence
P – Ryan Gehring – Traverse City
P – Aaron Ledbetter – Washington
P – David Nathanson – Traverse City*
P – Brandon Parillo – Kalamazoo
P – Andy Polk - Chillicothe
P – Mike Schellinger - Washington

* Denotes unanimous selection

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Should the Miners break out the broom?  Maybe a raincoat would be a better idea at 12:40 p.m. CDT.  We’ve got some drizzle here at Bosse Field a little more than six hours before tonight’s 7:05 p.m. first pitch as Southern Illinois goes for its first road sweep of the season.

The Miners were in this position last week at Evansville but fell in the getaway game.  The season series with the Otters is tied, 4-4, and the Miners could erase an earlier Evansville three-game sweep at Rent One Park with a win today.

All-Star ballots were due today at noon EDT and Saturday’s Miners Extra will have a breakdown of my ballot.  We’ll also have a feature on the bad blood between the Miners and this weekend’s opponent, River City.  ”Meet the Miner” will catch up with starting pitcher Ryan Bird, the Frontier League’s strikeout leader as of July 2.  

But all that stuff is the future.  How about we get into the now.  

The Miners (21-20) are above .500 for the first time since June 12.  Funny thing is, the FL West is so jumbled that Southern Illinois is only half a game back of division leader Gateway.  Going 6-4 in their last 10 games has been a boon for the Miners.

There are a couple reasons for the Miners’ quality play of late.  Look no further than starting pitching for reason No. 1.  Southern Illinois’ rotation of Ryan Bird (2-0), Chris Little (2-0), Reid Price (1-0), Brett Scarpetta (1-1) and Nick Starnes (0-1) are 6-2 in their last 10 starts.  Their combined ERA?  3.60.  Walks plus hits per inning pitched?  1.36.  

Bird (0.69 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) has given up one earned run in 13 innings with 16 strikeouts and four walks.  Little (2.77 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) pitched 13 innings and gave up four earned runs with eight strikeouts and four walks.  Price (1.64 ERA, 0.73 WHIP) has given up one earned run in 11 innings with eight strikeouts and one base-on-balls.  Scarpetta (5.40 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) allowed six earned runs in 10 innings with nine strikeouts and six walks.  Starnes (8.10 ERA, 1.90 WHIP) gave up nine earned runs and six walks with five strikeouts.    

The second reason for the Miners’ improved play has been Tim Dorn’s resurgence and the addition of Brad Miller.  Dorn has a .450 batting average (18-for-40) with five home runs and 13 RBIs.  This is the player fans and coaches thought they were getting when Dorn came back to the team this season.  Miller has been as good as advertised since he donned a Miners uniform with a .393 batting average, one home run and several quality at-bats.  

Some other Miners have noticeable stats during a 10-game stretch that’s produced a .293 team batting average, 15 home runs and 63 RBIs.  Brandon Jones has struggled with a .195 average, but four of his eight hits have been home runs.  Jones has eight RBIs during that stretch.  Tony Roth (.263 BA) has missed five games with a balky back, but Mike Victor is hitting .304 in 23 at-bats.  Bradley Goldsmith is batting better than .280 with two home runs and a handful of RBIs.  Kevin Koski (.286) has scored 10 runs.    

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Lineup note:  2B Tony Roth (.310 BA) is back from a bad back and will bat second in tonight’s game.  

Evansville roster note:  The Otters designated OF Jose Pineda to the 14-day Injured Reserve list and signed OF Luke Hetherington, tonight’s starter in right field.  

All-Stars:  Griffin Bailey, Brandon Jones, Willie Keene, Chris Little, and Brandon Jones will represent the Miners at the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game in Traverse City.  Evansville C Tom Pennino and P Jon Lewis will represent the Otters.  

Weather forecast:  Showers and scattered thunderstorms tonight with a 60 percent chance of rain and a low of 67 degrees.  Winds will be light and variable.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Brett Scarpetta (1-2, 5.52 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season.  He’s given up nine earned runs in 14.2 innings.  Opponents are hitting .288 against Scarpetta.  He’s walked seven and struck out 13.  Scarpetta lasted 4.1 innings and allowed three earned runs and three hits with three strikeouts and four walks in losing his at Evansville last week.  The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Scarpetta has a fastball in the upper 80s to low 90s with a curveball, a slider, and a changeup.    

Evansville counters with right-hander Ricky Bauer (5-2, 4.66 ERA), who is making his eighth start.  Bauer is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA against the Miners in one start.  He allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks versus Southern Illinois.  Opponents are hitting .311 against Bauer.  He’s given up 51 hits and 20 earned runs in 38.2 innings this season.  The 6-foot-2, 170-pound native of Hawaii has a mid-to-high-80s fastball, a curve, a slider and a changeup.  

We’ll be back if any breaking news comes across our desk.  If not, we’ll see you after the Miners at-bat in the first inning…

First pitch, strike, 7:11 p.m.

First inning:
Southern Illinois plated a scrappy run off Evansville starter Ricky Bauer.  Center fielder Kevin Koski led off the game with a 10-pitch base-on-balls after he fouled off four two-strike offerings.  Koski advanced to third when he took off as second baseman Tony Roth blooped a single to shallow center.  First baseman Brad Miller struck out swinging.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn’s sacrifice fly to left scored Koski from third for a 1-0 lead.  Roth stayed at first base.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos flied-out to right.  

Miners starter Brett Scarpetta held the Otters scoreless in the first.  Shortstop Gerad Mochizuki flied-out to right.  Right fielder Luke Hetherington flied-out to center.  Designated hitter Justin Randall lined an opposite-field single to left.  First baseman Christian Reyes grounded out, 5-3.  1-0 Miners. 

Second inning:
The Miners put two men on with two outs but did not get a run.  All-Star third baseman Brandon Jones struck out swinging.  All-Star left fielder Willie Keene struck out swinging.  Catcher Brendan Akashian drew a four-pitch walk.  All-Star shortstop Mike Scanzano took a five-pitch base-on-balls.  Akashian advanced to second.  Koski struck out swinging.   

Another two-out base runner, another shutout inning for Scarpetta.  Second baseman Isaac Omura popped to Roth in shallow right.  Third baseman Ryan Bethel popped to Miller at first base.  Left fielder Daniel Burton reached second on Jones’ throwing error to first base.  All-Star catcher Tom Pennino went down on a fly-out to right.  1-0 Miners. 

Third inning:
A two-run homer followed by a two-run double put the Miners ahead by five runs in the third.  Roth reached base for the second time tonight when Bauer hit him with a pitch.  Miller hammered a 1-0 fastball over the wall in left-center for a 3-0 lead.  Dorn was called out on strikes.  Metropoulos grounded a single to left.  Jones did the same and moved Metro to second.  Keene struck out swinging.  Akashian’s double off the left-field wall scored Metro and Jones for a 5-0 lead.  Scanzano’s 6-3 groundout ended the Miners’ third inning. 

Scarpetta worked around an error and a single for his third shutout inning.  Center fielder Mike Sullivan reached on Jones’ fielding error.  Mochizuki struck out swinging.  Hetherington lined a single to left.  Pitching coach Brad Hall went to the mound to talk things over with Scarpetta.  Randall’s 5-4 fielder’s erased Hetherington at second base for the second out.  Sullivan went to third.  Reyes’ 6-4 forced Randall out at second to end the inning.  5-0 Miners.

Fourth inning:
Southern Illinois missed out on a leadoff base runner opportunity in a scoreless fourth.  Koski reached on Mochizuki’s fielding error at shortstop.  Roth flied-out to the warning track in left-center.  Koski was caught trying to steal second, 2-4, with Miller at the plate.  Miller popped to third in foul territory for the final out.   

Scarpetta sat the Otters down in order in the fourth.  Omura grounded out to Miller at first base, unassisted.  Bethel grounded to the same spot with the same result.  Burton’s pop-out to Scanzano in shallow left finished the Otters’ fourth.  5-0 Miners.

Fifth inning:
Dorn reached on a leadoff walk.  Metropoulos drew an eight-pitch walk.  Otters pitching coach Brendan Sagara had a mound meeting with Bauer as Jones stepped to the plate.  Lefty Ben Foster warmed up in the Otters’ bullpen as Bauer walked the bases loaded with no outs.  Evansville manager Jason Verdugo pulled Bauer for Foster (1-3, 4.40 ERA).  Keene grounded into 5-2 fielder’s choice that forced Dorn out at the plate.  Foster’s wild pitch to Akashian scored Metro from third for a 6-0 lead.  Jones moved to third, Keene to second.  Akashian’s bounding single to left scored Jones and Keene for an 8-0 lead.  Akashian moved to second on the throw home.  Foster hit Scanzano in the lower left leg.  Mike Victor came in to pinch run at first base for Scanzano.  Victor will probably play second base with Roth moving over to short.  Koski flied-out to center.  Bethel’s fielding error of Roth’s grounder loaded the bases again.  Akashian advanced to third as Victor went to second.  Miller’s swinging strikeout ended the Miners’ half.  

Scarpetta still has a shutout after five innings.  Roth moved to short for the injured Scanzano.  Victor took over at second.  Pennino grounded out, 1-3.  Sullivan flied-out to center.  Mochizuki reached on a walk.  Hetherington followed with a single.  Randall’s fly-out to center ended the fifth.  8-0 Miners.
Bauer’s line:  4 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 5 SO, 1 WP, 1 HP. 

Sixth inning:
The Miners added another run to their already seemingly insurmountable lead off Otters’ pitcher Dustin Renfrow (0-2, 4.50 ERA).  Dorn took a leadoff walk.  Metropoulos reached on Bethel’s throwing error at third.  Dorn advanced to third.  Jones grounded into a 1-6-3 double play.  Dorn scored from third.  Keene struck out swinging.   

Bradley Goldsmith took over for Keene in left field as Scarpetta held the Otters scoreless for the sixth straight inning.  Reyes grounded out, 6-3.  Omura popped-out to Jones in foul territory.  Bethel singled to center.  Burton went down on a called third strike.  9-0 Miners.  

Seventh inning:
Another inning, another run for the Miners.  New catcher Randy Rosa led off the frame with a double to right-center off Evansville pitcher Justin Smith (0-0, 1.29 ERA).  Victor followed with a run-scoring double to left for a 10-0 lead.  Koski grounded out, 5-3.  Roth popped-out to first base in foul territory.  Miller’s swinging strikeout ended the Miners’ seventh.

Scarpetta’s night ended after the sixth, but lefty reliever Brian Wilburn (0-0, 8.10 ERA) kept the shutout intact in the seventh.  Eric Suttle took over for Metropoulos in right.  Pennino flied out to center.  Sullivan did the same.  Wilburn hit Mochizuki.  Hetherington popped out to first.  10-0 Miners. 

Eighth inning:
New pitcher Kyle Pawelczyk (1-0, 8.41 ERA) held the Miners scoreless in the eighth.  Dorn struck out swinging.  Suttle grounded out, 6-3.  Jones singled to left.  Goldsmith singled to center.  Rosa struck out swinging.   

The Miners moved to within one inning of a shutout in the eighth.  Randall led off with a walk.  Reyes struck out.  Omura struck out looking.  Bethel grounded out, 6-3.  10-0 Miners.

Ninth inning:
Otters’ reliever Brock Nehls (0-1, 10.50 ERA) struck out the side in the ninth.  Koski, Roth, and Miller all went down swinging.

Brett Cannon (0-0, 9.00 ERA) hammered down the Miners’ second shutout of the season with a scoreless ninth.  Burton led off with a single to left center.  Pennino flied out to center.  Povey took a base-on-balls.  Mochizuki grounded out, 4-3, and Burton advanced to third.  Hetherington struck out to end the game.  Final score:  10-0 Miners.  

We’ll have a wrap tomorrow.  It’s time to hit the road.  See you tomorrow…

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Home runs from Brandon Jones and Brad Miller plus a six-strikeout, one-earned-run start from Ryan Bird put the Miners one game over .500 with a 5-4 win Wednesday at Evansville’s Bosse Field.

Southern Illinois (21-20) has now won four straight road series.  The Miners look for their first road sweep and second sweep overall in Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. game.  

Miller followed Jones’ solo home run that gave the Miners a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run shot of his own in the third for a 3-0 advantage.  It was Miller’s first home run as a Miner.  Jones added another RBI when his sixth-inning double scored Joey Metropoulos for a 4-3 lead.  Jones scored his second run of the night on Brendan Akashian’s sacrifice fly one batter after Willie Keene moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt.

Bird picked up his second win in a row at Bosse Field with six innings of work in which he allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks.  Bird’s 56 strikeouts are the most in the Frontier League.  Bird (5-3) has 25 strikeouts in his last three starts.  Not surprisingly, the Miners are 3-0 in those starts.

Griffin Bailey pitched two scoreless innings of relief before he handed the ball to Armando Carrasco with a 5-3 lead in the ninth.  Carrasco walked two and allowed one hit plus Christian Reyes’ run-scoring sacrifice fly to close the gap to 5-4.  Carrasco struck out one in his third save as a Miner.

Evansville starter Justin Jordan fell to 4-5 after allowing five earned runs in six innings.  Evansville is now three games under .500 at 19-22.    

Notes:  Kevin Koski (3-for-4) scored one run and reached base four times in five plate appearances…Joey Metropoulos (1-for-4) had his third double in two nights in the sixth and scored a run…Southern Illinois improved its road record to 12-8…The Miners are 17-1 when leading after seven innings…Tim Dorn’s 10-game hitting streak and five-game home run streak ended with an 0-for-3 night…Evansville RF Jose Pineda struck out in his first two at-bats, which gave him a six at-bat strikeout streak…Pineda struck out six times in seven plate appearances over three games…Evansville’s bullpen pitched three scoreless innings…Otters 1B Christian Reyes (0-for-3) drove in runs with a groundout and a sacrifice fly.

Score by inning   R H E
SIL  012 002 000 - 5 8 2
EVE 003 000 001 - 4 7 1

E - Metropoulos(6); Jones, B(8); Reyes, C(6). LOB - Miners 6; Otters 10. 2B -

  Metropoulos(10); Jones, B(9); Omura, I(13). HR - Miller, B(2); Jones, B(11). HBP -

  Burton, D. SH - Scanzano, M(1); Keene, W(1); Kampsen, A(1); Burton, D 2(2). SF -

  Akashian, B(1); Reyes, C(1). SB - Koski, K 2(6); Randall, J(4); Sullivan, M(6). CS -

  Burton, D(2).

SI Miners
Bird………….6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1 WP, 23 AB, 28 BF
Bailey……….2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HP, 7 AB, 8 BF
Carrasco……1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 AB, 5 BF

Evansville
Jordan……..6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 23 AB, 27 BF
Utley……….2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 6 AB, 7 BF
Lewis………1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4 AB, 4 BF

WP - Bird, R(7). HB - Bailey, G. PB - Pennino, T(1). Pitches/strikes: Bird, R 96/58;

  Bailey, G 27/20; Carrasco, A 18/7; Jordan, J 96/61; Utley, N 29/22; Lewis, J 15/11. 

  Strikeouts - Scanzano, M; Miller, B; Dorn, T; Metropoulos; Keene, W; Victor, M;

  Randall, J; Kampsen, A 2; Burton, D; Omura, I; Pennino, T; Pineda, J 3. Walks -

  Koski, K; Dorn, T; Randall, J 2; Crescenzi, C; Reyes, C; Sullivan, M.

  Umpires - HP: Bruce Doane  1B: Joe Harris  2B: James Jackson

  Start: 7:09   Time: 2:50   Attendance: 2499

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Maybe it’s time to petition for a name change.  Southern Illinois should nix the Miners and start calling themselves the “Road Warriors.”  Not these “Road Warriors” because they look a little bit too much like Oakland Raiders fans.  Maybe more like this guy before he decided to get behind the wheel hammered and go on an anti-Semitic rant.  

But we digress.  The real reason to call Southern Illinois the “Road Warriors” is its 11-8 record away from Rent One Park.  Or its 8.2 runs per game when it steps off the bus.  Or its .294 batting average, 33 home runs and 140 RBIs in 705 road at-bats.  Six Miners with more than 30 road at-bats are hitting better than .300.   

 There’s only one thing stopping the petition to change the name. Southern Illinois has a 6.90 ERA on the road.  But (and there’s always a “but”) that’s why statistics are so much fun.  Take away Tanner Roark’s two road starts and check out the incredible shrinking team ERA: it drops to 6.04 without those 19 extra earned runs in five innings.  Ditch former reliever Curt Dixon’s 14 earned runs in 4.2 innings and the team ERA falls to 5.41.  It’s still not as good as the Miners’ 3.71 home ERA, and pitching is always listed as a key to winning, but it’s tough to imagine that Southern Illinois wouldn’t have scratched out maybe one or two more wins away from home.

Of course, you can’t change the past.  Well, not always.  Reliever Armando Carrasco got credit today for a save in last night’s 8-4 over the Otters.  Carrasco entered the game with the bases loaded and the winning run on deck, but didn’t get a save.  The scoring issue was resolved this afternoon.  

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Lineup notes:  2B Tony Roth is in Evansville but not in the starting lineup tonight as he rests his back.  Mike Victor will play second base and bat ninth.  SS Mike Scanzano will take over for Roth in the No. 2 spot of the batting order.  1B Brad Miller is back after a funeral and will bat third.  Tim Dorn will hit fourth as a DH.  Joey Metropoulos takes over right field duties and bats fifth.  3B Brandon Jones will bat sixth.  Willie Keene follows Jones in the order and will patrol left field.    

Roster notes:  Click here to find out about the Miners’ roster moves today.

Weather forecast:  We’ll have clouds and a chance of isolated thunderstorms after midnight at Bosse Field.  There is a 30 percent chance of rain with an expected low temperature of 69 degrees.  Winds will come from the south-southwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Ryan Bird (4-3, 4.36 ERA) makes his ninth start of the season.  He dealt the last time he faced Evansville, tying the Miners’ single-game strikeout record (9) in a win before breaking it one start later.  Bird has 50 strikeouts in 43.1 innings, just three off the Frontier League lead, and he’s held opponents to a .248 batting average with 16 walks.  The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Bird has a fastball that touches 90, a changeup and a curve.   

Evansville counters with Justin Jordan (4-4, 4.85 ERA), a right-hander making his ninth start.  Jordan is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA versus the Miners in two starts.  Southern Illinois is hitting .241 against the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Jordan.  For the season, Jordan has 29 strikeouts and 14 walks in 42.2 innings.  Jordan has a high-80s fastball, a curve and a change.  

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.  We’ll be back after the top of the first inning…

First pitch, ball, 7:10 p.m.

First inning:
Manager Mike Pinto said before the game that the Miners would try to manufacture a run in the first inning off Evansville starter Justin Jordan.  They got a runner in scoring position but could not push him across.  Center fielder Kevin Koski pulled a leadoff line drive off the glove of a leaping Christian Reyes at first base.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano bunted Koski to second with a first-pitch, 2-3 sacrifice.  First baseman Brad Miller fouled off three full-count offerings before he flied-out to center.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn took a six-pitch walk.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos lined-out to shortstop.   

Miners starter Ryan Bird stranded a pair of Otters in the first.  Designated hitter Justin Randall led off with a seven-pitch walk.  Third baseman Adam Kampsen’s 3-4 sacrifice bunt moved Randall to second.  Bird struck out left fielder Daniel Burton swinging.  Randall advanced to third on Bird’s wild pitch to Reyes, who battled back from an 0-2 count to take a base-on-balls.  Second baseman Isaac Omura flied out to center for the final out.  0-0.

Second inning:
Third baseman Brandon Jones’ leadoff home run gave Southern Illinois a 1-0 lead.  Left fielder Willie Keene followed with a 5-3 groundout.  Catcher Brendan Akashian flied-out to the warning track in left.  Second baseman Mike Victor ended the inning with a fly-out to center.   

Bird has 22 strikeouts in his last 16 innings pitched.  Yikes.  Shortstop Ryan Bethel grounded out, 4-3.  Catcher Tom Pennino went down swinging on three pitches.  Right fielder Jose Pineda went down to the whiff on four pitches.  1-0 Miners. 

Third inning:
The long ball added a pair of runs to Southern Illinois’ lead.  Koski led off the frame with an infield single to shortstop.  Scanzano’s 4-3 groundout on a hit-and-run advanced Koski to second.  Koski stole third base on Jordan’s first pitch to Miller.  Miller hit a towering home run to left center on a 2-0 pitch for his first home run as a Miner and a 3-0 lead.  Dorn grounded out, 4-3.  Metropoulos grounded out, 6-3.  3-0 Miners.   

Southern Illinois’ three-run lead was short lived.  Center fielder Mike Sullivan led off the home half with a single to right field.  Randall followed with a single up the middle that grazed Bird’s right leg.  Sullivan advanced to second.  Kampsen’s 5-3 groundout moved both runners into scoring position.  Metropoulos’ fielding error on Burton’s drive to the right-center gap scored Sullivan from third.  The ball bounced off a running Metro’s glove.  Pitching coach Brad Hall and Akashian went out to the mound for a meeting with Bird.  Reye’s 4-3 groundout drove in Randall to cut the lead to 3-2.  Burton moved to third.  Omura’s double off the left-field wall scored Burton for a tie.  Bethel grounded out to first base, unassisted.   3-3. 

Fourth inning:
The Miners threatened with two outs but came up empty.  Jones popped out to first base.  Keene grounded out, 6-3.  Akashian made it to second base on Reyes’ throwing error.  Victorreached on an infield single to short.  Akashian advanced to third.  Koski’s fly-out to left ended the threat.   

Evansville could not turn a pair of two-out singles into a run in the fourth.  Pennino flied-out to right.  Pineda took his fifth straight strikeout over two games in this series when he went down looking for out No. 2.  Sullivan took a base-on-balls.  Sullivan stole second during Randall’s at-bat.  Randall followed with an infield single to short that put runners on the corners.  Kampsen’s swinging strikeout ended the inning.  3-3.

Fifth inning:
Jordan notched his first strikeout and first 1-2-3 inning in a scoreless fifth.  Scanzano grounded out, 5-3.  Miller flied-out to right.  Dorn went down swinging.   

Bird shut out the Otters in the fifth.  Burton flied out to left.  Reyes grounded out, 4-3.  Omura reached on Jones’ fielding error at third.  Bethel flied-out to center.   3-3.

Sixth inning:
Chalk up two more runs for the Miners as they played a mixture of “big ball” and “small ball.”  Metropoulos tomahawked a leadoff double of the top of the wall in left-center.  Jones’ double to the right-center gap scored Metro for a 4-3 lead.  Keene sacrificed Jones to third with a 1-3 bunt.  Akashian’s sac fly to center gave the Miners a 5-3 lead with two outs.  Victor flied-out to center.   

Bird held the Otters scoreless for the fourth time in six innings in the sixth.  Pennino flied-out to left.  Pineda singled up the middle.  Sullivan flied-out to center.  Randall went down on a called third strike for Bird’s sixth of the night.  5-3 Miners. 

Seventh inning:
Right-hander Nick Utley (1-0, 1.93 ERA) took over for Jordan and held the Miners scoreless in the seventh.  Koski led off with a walk as right-hander Griffin Bailey warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Koski made it to second on a passed ball.  Scanzano struck out swinging after he could not get a sac bunt down.  Miller struck out looking.  Dorn was retired on a broken-bat liner to shortstop.  
Jordan’s line:  6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO. 

Right-hander Griffin Bailey (3-2, 2.19 ERA) relieved Bird in the seventh and shut out the Otters.  Kampsen went down swinging.  Bailey hit  Burton with a 0-2 pitch.  Burton was gunned down, 2-6, on a stolen base attempt.  Reyes grounded out, 1-3.  5-3 Miners.
Bird’s line:  6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO. 

Eighth inning:
Utley made short work of the Miners in the eighth.  Metropoulos went back to the dugout after a three-pitch swinging strikeout.  Jones flied-out to the warning track in right field.  Right-hander Jon Lewis warmed up in the Otters’ bullpen as Keene was called out on strikes.   

Bailey shut out the Otters in the eighth.  Defensive substitution time: Bradley Goldsmith took over for Keene in left; Eric Suttle moved to right in place of Metropoulos.  Omura led off with a single to right.  Bethel flied out to left.  Pennino’s single to right advanced Omura to third.  Speedster Gerad Mochizuki took over for Pennino as a pinch runner at first base.  Pineda struck out for the sixth time in eight at-bats this series for the second out.  Sullivan’s broken-bat 5-3 groundout ended the threat and the inning.   5-3 Miners.

Ninth inning:
Right-hander Jon Lewis (1.13 ERA, 8 SV) came in for Utley on the mound and held the Miners scoreless.  Evansville defensive moves:  Mochizuki stayed in to play shortstop; Bethel moved from short to third; Chris Crecenzi took over for Pennino behind the plate.  Akashian grounded out, 4-3, as right-hander Armando Carrasco warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Victor struck out swinging.  Koski reached base for the fourth time tonight on his third single of the game.  He stole second base before Scanzano flied-out to right.  

Armando Carrasco took over for Bailey in the ninth and picked up his third save as a Miner despite some difficulties.  Carrasco walked Randall, the leadoff hitter, and followed with a four-pitch free pass to Crecenzi after a meeting with Hall.  Tycen Povey pinch ran for Crecenzi at first base.  Burton’s 5-3 sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position.  Reyes’ sac fly to center scored Randall from third as Jake McMurran warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Omura’s swinging strikeout ended the threat and the game.  Final score:  5-4 Miners.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Southern Illinois released injured relief pitcher Kevin Dooley and assigned catcher Jake Smith to the 14-day Injured Reserve on Wednesday.  The club signed former River City catcher Randy Rosa to take Smith’s place.

Rosa was released by River City on June 27.  He had a .239 batting average with one home run and seven RBIs in 46 at-bats.  The 6-foot-2, 265-pound Rosa will add a switch-hitting bat to the Miners’ lineup.  Manager Mike Pinto said Rosa displayed a strong throwing arm at Frontier League tryouts before the season started.

Dooley’s release cleared IR space for Smith, which also cleared roster room for Rosa’s addition.  Pinto said the right-handed Dooley was at least two weeks away from a return after possibly straining the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow on June 23.  Results of an MRI are pending.  

Smith injured his hamstring in the second inning of Monday’s series finale at Windy City.  He will be eligible to return on July 16.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — We gave you some brief information on the Miners’ weekend roster moves.  Here’s a little more information.

Signed LHP Brian Wilburn:  This year represents Wilburn’s second stint with the Miners. The 6-foot, 205-Wilburn was tough on lefties in Tuesday’s win at Evansville.  He hit lefty Gerad Mochizuki, got left-hander  Justin Randall to ground into a double play and struck out lefty Isaac Omura.  Wilburn, 24, also gave up a solo home run to right-hander Daniel Burton and a single from righty Adam Kampsen.   He’s given up three earned runs (8.03 ERA) on seven hits in 3.1 innings.  Wilburn was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in 26 appearances for the Miners in 2007.  He struck out 23, walked 16 and gave up 27 hits in 34.0 innings.

Signed RHP Chris Allen:  Florida International University’s Chris Allen went 4-4 with a 4.87 ERA in 11 starts as a senior in 2008.  Manager Mike Pinto said he wanted a guy who had started against top competition in front of packed houses.  ”He is used to pitching against high-level hitters and it gives him a chance to be successful against hitters at this level,” Pinto said.  Pinto also desired a pitcher who understood big game pressure.  The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Allen was FIU’s Friday starter, the college equivalent of a No. 1 pitcher, and he faced other teams’ aces.  Allen, 23, had a 3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio (45-15) and allowed 78 hits in 61 innings.  He led FIU in innings pitched (98), starts (16), strikeouts (91) and complete games (3) in 2007.  

Released Brad Arnett:  The Miners liked what Arnett brought to the team, but his release was necessitated by the signing of 1B Brad Miller.  When Miller came to the Miners, and with Brandon Jones at third, Arnett could not get steady at-bats as a regular position player.  But when he did get a chance, Arnett hit .277 with one home run and nine RBIs in 24 at-bats.  He had a grand slam in the Miners’ season-opening win at Gateway.  Arnett, 25, is headed to Washington, but he could find his way back to the Miners after the season is complete.