SCHAUMBURG, Ill. —  In the first game of a crucial series with major playoff implications, Schaumburg Boomers starter Robby Donovan led his squad to a pivotal 5-2 victory over the Southern Illinois Miners at Boomers Stadium Tuesday evening.

The Boomers (52-39) rode the right arm of Donovan to victory. The Schaumburg ace was outstanding Tuesday evening battling through 7.1 innings and allowing just two runs on six hits to improve to 10-5 on the season. Lefty Adam Tollefson retired the only two batters he faced in the eighth as the bridge to closer Patrick Mincey in the ninth. The rookie worked a perfect ninth with a pair of strikeouts to earn his 15th save of his first professional season as the Boomers improved to 44-0 when leading after eight innings and 33-16 at Boomers Stadium.

Schaumburg appeared to fall behind by two runs early on a Chris Anderson single to center. However, with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth, the Miners (53-37) sent a pair runners across the plate on the Anderson base hit only to have Jason Ganek called out for missing third base. The inning ended with score 1-0, instead of two runs on the board for the Miners and Cannon Lester up with runners on first and second.

In the very next half inning, the Boomers capitalized on the momentum swing with a two-out rally to take the lead. With nobody on, Jereme Milons and Mike Valadez got things rolling with back-to-back singles. First baseman Brandon Gregorich made it three singles in a row when he knocked in Milons from second and tied the game at one run apiece. After Karexon Sanchez drew a free pass in a nine-pitch battle, Nate Baumann gave the Boomers the lead on a two-RBI single. The Boomers rookie right fielder finished 2-4 on the night with three runs batted in and a run scored to lead the charge for the Schaumburg offense.

Southern Illinois cut the lead to 3-2 on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cory Harrilchak in the sixth, but the Boomers put the game out of reach with two runs in the seventh. Sanchez reached base for the third time with his second walk of the night and crossed the plate on Baumann’s triple over the head of Ken Gregory in right field to make it 4-2 Boomers. The next batter, third baseman Frank Pfister, belted a deep fly that allowed Baumann to score and provide the final margin of victory.

Schaumburg improved to 8-1 at home against left-handed starting pitchers and Tuesday’s victory also marked the 20th time the Boomers have secured a win after knocking out the opposing starter before he completed six innings. Valadez extended his season-best hitting streak to seven games with a 1-4 performance and Steve McQuail’s 13-game streak came to an end after an 0-4 night at the plate.

The Boomers remain tied for the fourth and final Frontier League playoff spot after a 9-1 victory for the Florence Freedom over the Normal CornBelters this evening. With the tiebreaker with the Freedom in the Boomers favor, Schaumburg would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Schaumburg sits a game in front of both Windy City and Lake Erie after the ThunderBolts Tyson Corley no-hit the Crushers, the first no-hitter in the Frontier League in the 2012 season.

After securing game one of this pivotal series, the Boomers and Miners will meet Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. as part of Ditch Work Day at Boomers Stadium. RHP Cody Griebling (5-2, 2.77) takes the mound for Boomers Manager Jamie Bennett and RHP David Harden (10-4, 3.08) for Southern Illinois opposes him.

PECKS

• Tonight marked the first win in franchise history over the Miners (in four chances)
• RHP Alex Rivers was originally scheduled to face Southern Illinois Wednesday afternoon before Griebling was announced as the starter following Tuesday’s 5-2 Boomers win

The FINAL Boomers regular season homestand continues with Ditch Work Day at 1 p.m. and 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.