Lake Erie homered three times in the top of the third to open a 4-0 lead. Connor Ownings homered to lead off, Jackson Valera connected on a two-run shot and DJ Stewart added a solo homer. The Boomers came back with a run in the bottom of the inning against former Schaumburg hurler Gunnar Kines as Brett Milazzo tripled and scored on a single from Blake Grant-Parks. William Salas doubled home Blake Berry in the fourth to draw the Boomers within 4-2 but Lake Erie pulled away with another homer in the sixth, a two-run shot.
Kobey Schlotman suffered the loss, working five innings. Miguel Reyes and Tyler Tomaka each tossed two innings. Grant-Parks posted three hits and Milazzo two as the bottom of the lineup contributed six hits. Alec Craig also finished with two hits.
The Boomers (52-41) continue to hold a 1.5 game lead in the battle for home field advantage in the wild card game after clinching the team’s fifth playoff appearance on Wednesday. The team will conclude the regular season with three games at Joliet beginning on Friday night. Visit www.boomersbaseball.com for all the details.