Miners walk-off win a ‘hit'

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Even though Southern Illinois Miners manager Mike Pinto said he nearly seen it all in his time around baseball, Sunday's game against the Gateway Grizzlies provided several "I don't believe what I just saw" moments.

The Miners walked off with a 10-inning 10-9 victory thanks to left fielder Kevin Koski getting hit by a pitch. The walk-off HBP was one of several quirks in a game that featured a pair of balks, one of which resulted in a run for the Grizzlies and five total errors, including an overthrow of an underhand flip.

"This is a win, but I don't feel like it," Pinto said after the game.

Southern Illinois (16-12) entered the top of the ninth inning with what looked to be a secure 9-5 lead. However, Gateway (11-17) plated four runs in the top of the ninth as it took advantage of free passes issued by reliever Mike Phelps, a few base hits and an error on what looked to be a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play before shortstop Gered Mochizuki's underhand toss ended up over the head of second baseman Tony Roth.

The Miners' bullpen has been an issue of late with Pinto, who said reinforcements are on the horizon. After an extra-inning game Saturday night against Windy City, Pinto said he was working with a short staff as only Phelps and Jake McMurran, who ended up picking up the win, were available.

And while Southern Illinois has struggled at times protecting a lead, its offense has had little problem building it up. Right fielder Jereme Milons continues to produce at the plate as he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three runs batted in, courtesy of a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Milons' mammoth shot carried over the left-center field wall, hitting a shed that is approximately more than 420 feet from home plate.

"A week ago (Milons) was hitting .205 and leading the league in RBIs, and now you'll notice he's still adding RBIs, but the batting average is creeping up every day," Pinto said. "Jereme's hit his whole career, so we had to be patient and figured he would start to figure this league out."

Milons' sixth homer of the season was part of the four-run bottom of the seventh inning that gave the Miners a 9-5 lead at the time.

Southern Illinois continues its six-game homestand tonight with the second game of a three-game series against Gateway.