After losing to the Evansville Otters on Tuesday night, Southern Illinois Miners manager Mike Pinto sent a few messages to his underperforming players.
Message received. Mission accomplished.
After tying the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Miners offense exploded for a five-run top of the fifth as Southern Illinois got the best of Evansville in a rain-shortened 6-1 win to even up the series at one game apiece.
Miners manager Mike Pinto said while it was important to limit the mistakes that plagued the team last night, the most important aspect of the win was the performance by starting pitcher Tony Bradley.
“We needed a really strong effort out of our starter today,” Pinto said. “We didn’t have much available in our bullpen tonight, so him going deeper into a ball game gave us a chance to win tonight.”
While Bradley allowed four walks and hit three batters, he eluded giving up the big inning as he allowed only one run on four hits to go along with four strikeouts.
For the second straight night, the Otters opened up the scoring, this time it was a sacrifice fly off the bat of Adam Kampsen to give Evansville a brief 1-0 lead.
The Miners offense began to show life in the bottom of the fourth inning as it knotted the game at 1-1. Right fielder Jereme Milons scored on a two-strike double by designated hitter Joey Metropoulos.
After Bradley escaped a jam in the top of the fifth in which he danced around a pair of walks he allowed, Southern Illinois took charge before the lightning bolts did.
The Miners put a five-spot in the fifth on four base hits and three walks. Run scoring hits by Milens, Metropoulous and first baseman Brad Miller helped the Miners take control of the game.
Jake McMurran came in for a brief relief appearance that lasted a handful of pitches before the game was delayed at 9:10 p.m. as lightning in the surrounding area sent the teams scurrying to the clubhouse. The game was called at 10 p.m.
Pinto said the cancellation of the game helped preserve the bullpen as it gained a day of rest.
“Timing is everything in this game, so it was certainly good timing, but the guys did a good job,” Pinto said.
