Sparks' blast gives Miners series win over Otters Team's 13th season in Marion draws to end Sunday

MARION - The Southern Illinois Miners got a huge, go-ahead solo home run from Taylor Sparks in the eighth inning on Sunday, putting a cap on a game that saw them come back from down 4-0 in the first inning for a 6-5 victory over the Evansville Otters at Rent One Park in the 2019 season finale.

Evansville used an error by Sparks along with four hits and two walks to put up four runs in the top of the first inning against starter Jake Waters, putting Southern Illinois behind immediately. Waters then settled in, beginning a streak of 10 straight batters retired that spanned through the fourth inning, and in the bottom of the first inning, the Miners responded in kind to the Otters' big frame.

Leadoff singles by Yeltsin Gudino and Gianfranco Wawoe off Otters starter Jake Welch preceded an RBI double from Jamey Smart that made it 4-1. Kyle Davis then brought in Wawoe with a ground ball to third base to cut the deficit to 4-2, and Arturo Nieto followed by cranking an RBI double of his own to left-center field to bring the Miners within 4-3. Joe Duncan would then drive in the tying run on an RBI single to left field, knotting the score at 4-4 after just one inning played.

Neither side scored from there until the top of the fifth inning, when a single followed by a wild pitch and two groundouts brought in the lead run and made the score 5-4 Otters. But just like in the first inning, Southern Illinois responded- Smart reached second base safely on a fielder's choice and error off the bat of Sergio Lopez, and Nieto then smacked his second RBI double of the night to left-center field to make it a 5-5 game after five innings.

Thanks to Waters as well as relievers Heath Renz and Will Headean (3-1), the score remained tied at 5-5 heading to the bottom of the eighth. Sparks came up to lead off the inning, and blasted the first pitch he saw from Michael Gizzi (0-2) deep over the center field fence, with his 10th home run of the season in just 36 games with the club making the score 6-5 Southern Illinois. In the top of the ninth, the Otters drew two walks to get the tying and potential lead runs on base with one out, but Jake Godfrey got David Cronin to line back to the mound to start a game-ending double-play, giving the Miners the season-ending series victory.

Nieto and Smart both enjoyed three-hit games for Southern Illinois, with the Miners outhitting the Otters 13 to six in the contest overall, and 29 to nine over the last two games of the weekend, allowing them to take it two games to one and finish their 2019 season at 53-43.

"It was a good weekend," said Miners Manager Mike Pinto about taking two of three from playoff-bound Evansville. "Sadly, we lost a game Friday night (opening game of the series), but we had a chance. We had guys on base. We just couldn't get the job done that night."

Pinto said his team may not be postseason bound like the Otters, but he is proud of the squad for finishing 10 games over .500 despite losing some key players to affiliated ball during the season - players like the keagye's leading hitter in shortstop Bryant Flete, and relievers Nick Duron and Jordan Brink, both whose fastballs routinely touched the mid-to-upper 90s.

"That's hard to replace," Pinto said.

Still, he realizes that it is all part of the game. He acquired new personnel and kept the team competitive and in the playoff hunt til the final few days.

"What I've loved about this team is a never-quit feeling all year," he said. "We had a tough month. We lost five guys to injury for the season, but we had guys step up and say, "Hey, let me do my best.' I would have loved to have celebrated with these guys. They were a lot of fun. I always say that I want to spend the summer with guys i like, and I liked these guys a lot."

Saturday's Game: Miners bash out 16 hits in win over Otters

MARION - The Southern Illinois Miners put up a big offensive performance in their penultimate game of the 2019 season, rapping out 16 hits and plating double-digit runs while also coming back from an early deficit in a 10-2 thrashing of the Evansville Otters at Rent One Park, evening the weekend series at one game apiece.

The Otters scored in the top of the first inning without the aid of a hit, as Keith Grieshaber drew a walk against Frank Moscatiello, then stole second base, went to third on the same play thanks to a throwing error, and came home on a wild pitch to make it 1-0. But unlike the night before, the Otters' lead would not last long. With two outs and the bases clear against Evansville starter Anthony Arias (2-2) in the bottom of the second inning, the Miners loaded the bases on a Jarrod Watkins single and walks by Sergio Lopez and Yeltsin Gudino before Gianfranco Wawoe laced a double to right field that cleared the bases and put the Miners up 3-1. Jamey Smart added a subsequent RBI single to plate Wawoe and put the home team up 4-1.

That was all that Moscatiello (2-0) needed in what became a career-best start for the right-hander, but Southern Illinois was not done scoring. After Evansville got a run back in the top of the third to make it a 4-2 game, the Miners loaded the bases in the bottom half for Gudino, whose two-out single plated two more runs and made it 6-2. Then, in the fifth inning, Watkins brought in another run with a sacrifice fly, and Lopez followed by doubling to left field to increase the lead to 8-2.

The Miners capped the scoring in the bottom of the eighth, when Watkins and Lopez picked up one more RBI apiece on a single and bases-loaded walk, respectively, for the final 10-2 margin.

Moscatiello made all the offense stand up by pitching a career-high seven innings, and allowing only three hits and two runs with three walks and seven strikeouts, earning his second victory of the season in the process.

Offensively, several players had outstanding individual days at the plate- Watkins led the way with a career-high four hits, going 4-for-4 in the game. Joe Duncan and Wawoe each had three hits in the contest, with the former going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and the latter also finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Gudino and Smart also chipped in multihit performances as Southern Illinois evened the series in emphatic fashion.

• Managing Editor John Homan contributed to this story.