Alec Craig led off the game with a solo homer, his eighth of the year, to put the Boomers ahead. Craig has hit four leadoff homers this season including two at Joliet. Clint Hardy opened the second with a double and scored on a two-out infield hit from Brett Milazzo. The lead extended to 3-0 in the third on a Mike Hart RBI single. Joliet was able to tie the game with three two-out runs in the bottom of the third. Both teams had chances but neither could come through as the contest moved into extra innings. Starting with a runner at second, Schaumburg grabbed the lead on an RBI single from Hardy to score the international runner. Darrell Thompson posted two strikeouts in the 10th to reach 90 for the year and tally his 17th save.
Aaron Glickstein worked five innings in a no-decision. Thomas Nicoll struck out 2.2 blank innings of relief. Jake Joyce collected the win, the 22nd of his career, by fanning two in 1.1 innings. The win marked the 22nd of his career to equal the team’s career record. Craig finished with three hits while Hardy and Milazzo posted two apiece.
The Boomers (53-41) 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 final series of the regular season continues tomorrow night. RHP Jumpei Akanuma (4-2, 3.69) is slated to start. Visit www.boomersbaseball.com for all the details.