TROY, N.Y.. — Jake Joyce took over second place all-time in Frontier League history in appearances, but the Schaumburg Boomers finished a wild three-game visit to the Tri-City ValleyCats with an 11-10 walkoff defeat.
Robbie Merced hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the ValleyCats rallied late to steal the win. Brett Milazzo put the Boomers ahead with a two-run homer in the top of the first but Tri-City came back with six runs in the bottom of the inning after Aaron Glickstein retired the leadoff man. John Fiorenza drew the Boomers within 6-5 on a three-run homer in the second and Kyle Fitzgerald tied it with a solo homer in the fifth. Milazzo helped the Boomers build a 10-6 lead with a two-run single in the sixth but Tri-City scored the final five runs on homers to take the win and the series.
Glickstein ended up working 6.1 innings despite the rough start. Milazzo drove home four and had a pair of hits. Fitzgerald, Blake Berry and Travis Holt all totaled two hits. Schaumburg swiped five bases with three from Craig. Fiorenza also knocked home four runs.
The Boomers continue the roadtrip by meeting up with their old friends the Washington Wild THind in Pennsylvania this weekend beginning at 6:05pm tomorrow. The teams have met in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. The team will return home for the Fourth of July Festivities beginning on July 3 against Joliet. Tickets are available by visiting www.boomersbaseball.com or calling 847-461-3695.