SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — With runners on second and third and nobody out in the ninth inning, the Schaumburg Boomers were unable to push across the tying run and fell to the Lake Erie Crushers by a score of 3-2 Tuesday evening.

Catcher Ty Nelson led off the ninth with a single and moved to third when Jereme Milons doubled to the wall in left center. However, Lake Erie closer Jonathan Kountis worked out of the jam, coercing a shallow fly out to right, a strikeout and a popout to end the threat and set the stage for the rubber match Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Boomers Stadium.

An unearned run in the second proved to be the difference in the game, as the Crushers (28-25) benefitted from a Boomers (33-20) error and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Adrian Ortiz. Brad Duffy picked up the win in relief of Pat Arnold with two scoreless innings for Lake Erie.

Newly signed righty Cody Griebling made a very solid professional debut, allowing just two earned runs over his 6.1 innings of work. The true rookie out of Missouri Southern State University struck out four and surrendered seven hits in a losing effort. Another three shutout innings for the Boomers bullpen, as Kaleb Engelke, Jason Braun and Sam Robinson combined to give the Schaumburg a shot at a late inning rally.

Milons continued to haunt his former team as he reached base in all four-plate appearances in the contest, and the Boomers centerfielder finished 1-1 with a double and three walks. Nate Baumann singled three times for the Boomers and Chad Mozingo added another two-hit performance, finishing 2-4 on the night.

The Boomers are back in action in Schaumburg Wednesday at 11 a.m. for the final game of this three-game set featuring another to-be-announced starter for Manager Jamie Bennett and the Boomers to face RHP Trevor Longfellow (5-2, 3.83) for Lake Erie.

PECKS

• Frank Pfister extends hitting streak to 15 games, which is a new franchise record
• Chad Mozingo has now reached base in 20 consecutive games for Schaumburg
• Schaumburg dropped their first game at home when scoring first and are now 12-1 in those games

With just a handful of weekend dates left, tickets for the Inaugural Season of Boomers Baseball are going fast so act now: online at www.boomersbaseball.com, over the phone at 847.461.3695 or in person at the Boomers Box Office located at Boomers Stadium, 1999 Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg IL, 60193.