LONGEST EVER BEACH BUMS GAME ENDS IN HEARTBREAK

7/8/2010 - TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The longest game in Traverse City Beach Bums history ended in heartbreaking fashion as a 16th inning single by Michael Stalter drove in a run for the Southern Illinois Miners, downing the Beach Bums 3-2.

After three scoreless innings started the game, the Miners scored a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Ernie Banks. Southern Illinois doubled it in the fifth when a Nate Hall ground rule double scored Michael Stalter for a 2-0 Miners lead.

The Beach Bums used small-ball to get back one of the runs in the bottom of the sixth. Matt Brown led off with a walk and stole second, his 11th steal of the year. Jason Codiroli moved him to third with a ground ball to the right side and Chase Burch brought Brown home with a sac fly to center to halve the Miners lead.

Southern Illinois would threaten again in the eighth with two on and one out, but the newest Beach Bum would keep the Miners at bay as Chris Engell dove up the middle to rob Brad Miller of a hit, flipped the ball with his glove on the backhand to second with Brandon Howard firing the relay onto first to complete the double play.

The spectacular defensive play seemed to ignite the Beach Bums as the middle man in the double play combo, Howard, led off the bottom half of the inning with his second homer of the season, clearing the wall in right to knot the game at 2-2.

At that point the pitching, which had already been solid, took over. Scott Dunn was spectacular out of the bullpen tossing four scoreless innings, striking out five. Richard Folmer followed suit, whiffing three in three scoreless innings before the Miners broke through against Scott Mueller in the 16th when Stalter’s single brought home Brendan Akashian.

Chris Allen (2-1) earned the win for Southern Illinois pitching three innings starting in the 14th. Mueller (2-3) took the loss.

Offensively, Matt Brown, Brandon Howard, Chase Burch and C. J. Ziegler all had two hits. Brown’s pair of hits extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

The Beach Bums end the first half of the season with a road series at Normal. Ryan Platt (5-1, 2.28) goes to the mound for TC against Dan Blewett (3-4, 4.38) for Normal. The pregame show on Sunny Country 101.9 will begin at 7:40 in anticipation of an 8:00 first pitch. The Beach Bums return home from the All-Star break on July 16 with a home series against the Kalamazoo Kings. For more information or tickets, call 231-943-0100 or visit tcbeachbums.com.