By WJBC Staf
PEORIA – The Peoria Chiefs scored five runs in the sixth inning to break open a close game and beat the Beloit Snappers 8-4 on Wednesday night in the opener of a three-game series. With the win the Chiefs are back to .500 in the second half at 32-32 and are 72-62 overall with five games left in the regular season.
The Chiefs did not have a hit in the first three innings while the Snappers loaded the bases twice with one out but failed to score both times. Jorge Rodriguez set the Snappers down in order in the top of the fourth and Jose Martinez singled with one out in the bottom of the inning. Eli Alvarez put the Chiefs on top with a double to right off Brendan Butler and the Chiefs took a 2-0 lead on a two-out single from Chris Chinea.
The Snappers got on the board with two outs in the fifth inning. Skye Bolt singled to right and when Craig Aikin lost a fly ball to left in the lights, Bolt scored as Trent Gilbert was credited with a RBI double.
Leading 2-1 the Chiefs scored six over the next two innings to put the game out of reach. Carlos Torres singled to start the fifth and moved to third on a double by Aikin. Magneuris Sierra delivered a sacrifice fly to center for a 3-1 lead before Butler retired the next two batters to end the inning.
Brian O’Keefe led off the sixth against reliever Jordan Schwartz and he singled to right while advancing to second on an error by Brett Siddall. Chinea doubled to right for a 4-1 Chiefs lead and Leo Pina’s double to right made it 5-1. RJ Dennard walked and Pina scored from second on an error by first baseman Ryan Howell for a 6-1 lead. Aikin finished off the big inning with a two-run double down the right-field line for an 8-1 Chiefs advantage.
Beloit was kept off the board over the next two innings by Nick Frey. They tallied the final runs of the game with a two-out bases loaded double by Gilbert off Steven De La Cruz in the ninth. With the lead cut to 8-4, De La Cruz got Siddall to groundout to second to end the game.
Rodriguez (4-1) earned the win as he allowed one run on five hits over six innings. He walked four and struck out four. Frey allowed two hits over two shutout innings while striking out two. De La Cruz allowed three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one in one inning.
