Jul 17, 2016 3 min read

On Faith & Freedom Night, the Wild Things didn’t have a prayer against the juggernaut that is the Southern Illinois Miners.

Southern Illinois scored six runs in the second inning, forged a double-digit lead and the Miners completed a three-game sweep of the Wild Things by cruising to an 11-7 victory Sunday at Consol Energy Park.

It’s the first time in the Miners’ 10-year history that they swept a series in Washington. It also improved Southern Illinois’ record to 37-17, the best in the Frontier League, and moved the Miners 5½ games ahead of second-place Evansville in the West Division.

Yes, it’s a good time to be a Miner.

“They’re the best team in the league,” confirmed Washington manager Gregg Langbehn.

Third baseman Steve Marino, the first team captain the Miners have ever had, led Southern Illinois at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Second baseman Craig Massey had three run-scoring hits and left fielder Shane Kennedy had a two-run single in the big second inning.

The Miners, who are the highest-scoring team in the league, lead the circuit in walks and are second in team batting average.

“I normally build my teams around pitching and defense,” Southern Illinois manager Mike Pinto explained. “If you don’t give up any runs, then you don’t have to score many to win. … This team, though, is hitting better than I thought, from No. 1 through No. 9 in the batting order. We’ve had some guys, like Steve Marino, Aaron Gates and Craig Massey, go from being good players in the past to exceptionally good players.”

The Miners knocked out Washington starting pitcher Chase Cunningham (3-5) after four innings and led 11-0 in the sixth. The Miners didn’t exactly overpower Cunningham pitches in the second inning as it included a shattered-bat single and a bloop single, but it started with a leadoff walk and had another free pass and a passed ball.

“When you don’t locate pitches and you walk guys, then that’s what’s going to happen against quality teams like Southern Illinois,” Langbehn said.

Miners starter Jarett Miller (4-2) threw 6 2/3 innings.

The Wild Things actually outhit the Miners, 14-13, and made the final score closer than the game was by scoring six times over the final three innings. In the ninth, second baseman Jamodrick McGruder hit his first home run with the Wild Things leading off the inning and David Popkins added a two-run shot over the video board in right field. It was Popkins’ eighth home run of the season.

“Are they good? Yes,” Langbehn said of the Miners. “Are we afraid of them? No. They outplayed us and swept us. We’ve got to learn from this series, make adjustments and be ready when we play them next week.”

The Wild Things will go to Marion, Ill., for a three-game series that starts Friday.

Washington, which began the series tied for first place with Joliet in the East, trails the Slammers by two games. … Southern Illinois begins a three-game series Tuesday at Joliet. … With backup catcher Alex McKeon out with an injury, backup infielder Justin Fox caught the final two innings after pinch-hitting for starter Kyle Pollock. … Popkins led Washington with three hits. … The game began an hour later than the originally advertised 5:05 p.m. start time because of pregame speakers for the Faith & Freedom Night. … The Wild Things have Monday and Tuesday off before hosting River City in a doubleheader Wednesday (6:05 p.m.).