SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The West Division Champion Schaumburg Boomers fell to the Joliet Slammers 5-2 in the regular season finale on Thursday night before 4,867 on Fan Appreciation Night at Boomers Stadium.

Joliet took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first against Schaumburg starter Matt LaMothe. LaMothe threw four innings and recorded three strikeouts in a no decision. The Boomers battled back to lead 2-1 in the fifth. Gerard Hall connected on his 10th homer of the season in the fourth and Bobby Martin notched an RBI single with two outs in the fifth to score Justin Vasquez.

Joliet scored three times in the seventh to take the lead and added another run in the eighth to account for the final. Preston Hatcher suffered the loss. Hall finished with two hits. The series loss was just the fourth of the second half.

The Boomers (59-37) finished the regular season with the best record in the league and will open the Frontier League Playoffs at home on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. against the Florence Freedom RHP Chris Phelan (7-2, 2.21) draws the assignment of starting the first playoff game in team history. Florence, who finished 5-1 against the Boomers in the regular season, will counter with RHP Andy (3-0, 2.26).

Playoff tickets are on sale now. The Boomers run through the playoffs is powered by AEP Energy. Reserve your piece of the action by calling 847.461.3695 or visiting www.boomersbaseball.com.