SAUGET, Ill. — The Schaumburg Boomers allowed three late homers to the Gateway Grizzlies and suffered a 6-5 walk-off loss in the opener of a mid-week series on the road Tuesday night.

The Boomers built a 5-0 lead but couldn’t hold onto the edge. Schaumburg did not have a hit entering the fifth. Kellum Clark was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Alex Calarco walked with two away. Christian Fedko notched the first hit of the game, a two-run double to put the Boomers ahead 2-0. Schaumburg scored two more in the sixth on an RBI double from Clark and a Kyle Fitzgerald RBI single. Anthony Calarco made it 5-0 with an RBI single in the seventh but the Boomers left the bases loaded. Gateway was able to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh and breakup the shutout. Abdiel Diaz hit a two-run homer to tie the game with one out in the ninth before Dale Thomas followed with a walk off blast.

Cole Zaffiro recorded his best outing of the season, throwing six shutout innings. Zaffiro allowed just four hits while striking out a season high seven. The Boomers finished with eight hits and drew seven walks in the game. Anthony Calarco finished with a pair of hits in the loss. Cole Smith recorded a single and a pair of walks. The last three defeats for the Boomers have all been games where they led by at least three runs.

The Boomers (39-34) will continue the longest roadtrip in team history with the middle game against Gateway on Wednesday night at 6:30pm. All-Star RHP Buddie Pindel (7-2, 3.07) is slated to make the start against RHP Ben Harris (6-5, 4.50). The team returns home from the nine-game roadtrip on August 7 for Marshmallow Fight Night presented by Residential Heating and Cooling. The game will also feature postgame fireworks and a drone show. Drone shows are presented by SkillUp. Don’t miss out on the fun and Feel the Boom this summer! Visit boomersbaseball.com or call 847-461-3695 to secure your ticket to fun this summer.