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Prospect League Baseball
Clinton Keeps Playoff Hope Alive In DH Sweep Of Normal

Clinton Keeps Playoff Hope Alive In DH Sweep Of Normal

Recap courtesy of the Clinton LumberKings:
 
CLINTON, Iowa - The Clinton LumberKings kept their Prospect League playoff hopes alive with a doubleheader sweep of the Normal CornBelters on Thursday night, the last regular season home games of the season for the LumberKings.
 
The LumberKings took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning. Matt Scherrman (UW-Oshkosh) blasted a two-run double to make it 2-0 in the first. 
 
In the second, after Normal scored a run, Clinton tacked on two more in the second. Adam Weed singled in a run and Rayth Petersen (University of Illinois Chicago) drove in another with a single of his own. After two, the LumberKings held a 4-1 advantage. 
 
In the third the scoring continued. Connor Giusti drilled a two-run home run to left field, his fourth of the year and the winning hit for the LumberKings.
 
Clinton scored two more in the game and won the first matchup 8-5. 
 
In game two Clinton picked up where they left off in the early going. Matt Scherrman opened the scoring again. The infielder singled in Adam Weed and gave the LumberKings a 1-0 lead. 
 
In the third, Normal grabbed their first lead of the day. Peyton Dillingham (McKendree University) doubled to right field and drove in the tying run. Ben Higgins (Purdue University Fort Wayne) drove in a run with a groundout to give Normal a 2-1 lead.
 
Clinton grabbed the lead right back in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Chase Becker (University of Minnesota) was hit by a pitch, tying the game. Later, Adam Weed earned an RBI with a single and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
 
Normal responded an inning later. In the top of the fifth, Jake Munroe scored a wild pitch and later Cy Kerber (Tennessee Tech) drove in a run on a groundout. 
 
After both teams failed to score in the seventh, the game entered extra Innings. After Taeg Gollert (Missouri St) pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, Kyle Lehmann (USC-Upstate) came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth and clobbered a walk-off home run into right, the first LumberKings' Prospect League walk-off long ball in team history. Clinton won the ball game 5-4 and stayed alive in the hunt for a playoff spot.
 
Clinton stands two games behind the Normal CornBelters in the Great River Division with two games left. 
 
The LumberKings will face off with the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp tomorrow night in Peru, Ill.
 
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.