Joliet Slammers pull away to defeat Schaumburg Boomers

The Joliet Slammers scored four runs over the final three innings to notch a 5-2 decision over the Schaumburg Boomers in the opener of a weekend series at Wintrust Field on Friday night.

Aaron Simmons blasted a homer to right in the bottom of the second to open the scoring, his fifth longball of the year. Joliet tied the game in the top of the third with a two-out run against Schaumburg starter Brendan Knoll.

Tyler Depreta-Johnson led off the third with a double and scored on a throw to second to put the Boomers ahead again. The lead held until the seventh inning when Joliet scored twice and added single runs of insurance in the eighth and ninth to claim the victory in the opener.

Knoll worked six innings and allowed just one run but did not factor in the decision after exiting with the lead. The pitching staff issued eight walks after walking nine at Florence on Thursday.

The offense notched seven hits led by three from newcomer Ty Crittenberger. The University of Kentucky product owns five hits in his first two games with the team. The loss marked the third in a row where Schaumburg saw a lead slip away late in the game.

The Boomers (25-18) continue the series with the middle game against Joliet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.