Joyce sets league mark, but Schaumburg Boomers suffer defeat

On a night when Jake Joyce set the Frontier League’s record for appearances, the Schaumburg Boomers suffered a 7-4 setback at the hands of the Gateway Grizzlies in the opener of a six-game road trip.

Gateway scored single runs in each of the first two innings to take the early lead, but the Boomers scored four times in the third to jump ahead. Felix Aberouette led off the inning with an opposite-field solo homer to right, his first of the year.

Evan Orzech followed with a single, Alec Craig walked and Will Prater legged out a bunt to load the bases. Christian Fedko doubled off the wall in left to tie the game. Paxton Wallace stroked a 2-run single with two outs to hand the Boomers the advantage.

The lead held until the bottom of the sixth when Gateway scored three runs, taking the lead with two outs by stringing together five singles in the inning. The Grizzlies added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to secure the victory.

Joyce entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning for his 281st appearance, surpassing the record set by Gateway pitching coach Nick Kennedy. Jackson Hickert suffered the loss, tossing 5⅓ innings.

The Boomers finished with seven hits in the game, two of which came from Wallace. The team also drew six walks. Craig drew two more walks to add to his league leading total. The all-star has walked nine times in the last four contests.