MARION, Ill. — The Schaumburg Boomers could not overcome an early deficit, falling 5-3 to the Southern Illinois Miners on the road Saturday night.

Southern Illinois struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Sean Coughlin connected on his first homer of the season with one out to give the Miners a 1-0 lead. The Miners furthered the advantage with two runs in the fourth, both coming with two outs. A walk opened the door and after Sean Harrell doubled, Ken Gregory made it a 3-0 lead with a two-run single. Robbie Penny suffered the loss, pitching five innings.

The hosts extended the lead to 4-0 with a single tally in the bottom of the sixth against the Schaumburg bullpen. Pinch hitter Cannon Lester delivered a run scoring single.

The Boomers rallied in the seventh, scoring a pair of runs. Sean Mahley led off with a single and moved to third when Ty Nelson reached on an error. Brandon Hairston plated the first run with a sacrifice fly to center. Chad Mozingo also lifted a sacrifice fly after Andrew Cohn doubled. Southern Illinois immediately responded in the bottom of the inning, touching the bullpen for another run on a Matt Fields RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2.

Frank Pfister drilled a solo homer leading off the eighth to bring the Boomers closer, but closer Max Peterson finished out the win after a leadoff walk in the ninth. Schaumburg left seven on base in the defeat.

The series concludes on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. LHP Jose Rodriguez (1-0, 0.00) will make his first professional start opposite LHP Brian Fowler (1-0, 0.90).

PECKS

• Drew Heithoff pinch hit for the Boomers in the ninth inning
• Mike Valadez received a day of rest after fouling a pitch off his knee on Friday
• Darrin Tew, a pitcher for Southern Illinois, pinch hit in the eighth; Tew’s at bat marked the second time this season that a pitcher came to the plate against the Boomers

Season Tickets, Group Outings and single-game tickets for the Inaugural Season of Schaumburg Boomers Baseball are on sale now by calling the 847.461.3695, by visiting www.boomersbaseball.com or by stopping by Schaumburg Boomers Stadium located at 1999 S. Springinsguth Road in Schaumburg.