Hoots Drop Both Games in Doubleheader Contest VS. CornBelters

NORMAL, IL- The O’Fallon Hoots (12-11) continued their road trip on Tuesday, June 27, as they traveled to Normal, IL to take on the Normal CornBelters (13-11) in a doubleheader matchup at The Corn Crib. The CornBelters’ offense proved too strong against O’Fallon as Normal took both games on the day, winning 13-4 and 7-3.

Game One

Inside the Box Score

• The Hoots and CornBelters each had eight hits.
• Tyson Ludwig led the offense with two hits and two RBIs. 
• Kaden Joggerst tossed two and a thirds innings in relief, allowing no runs and striking out two batters.

How It Happened 

• Normal opened the game strong scoring four runs in the first inning. Tyler Woltman scored the first run of the ballgame by stealing home, Tyler Castron hit a two-RBI triple and Ethan Willoughby singled in a run.
• The CornBelters followed up a strong first inning with six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Four of the six total runs came from either a walk or hit by pitch. Normal scratched the other two runs across in the inning from a Carson Wadel single, making the score 10-0 in favor of the CornBelters.
• Normal added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning as Daniel Young hit an RBI sacrifice flyout.
• The CornBelters concluded their game one scoring with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Woltman RBI single to center field and later when Aaron Bock reached on a fielders choice to score James Harris; this pushed the Normal lead to 13-0.
• The Hoots put their first runs of the ballgame on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Nick Harms hit an RBI single to score Tyson Ludwig. John Stallcup later drove an RBI double to score Harms, making it a 13-2 game.
• In the top of the seventh inning, O’Fallon rallied for two more runs on a Ludwig single that scored Ethan Rossow and Maloy Heaghney, but any other comeback efforts were halted.

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Game Two

A much more competitive game for the Hoots however, things did not fully come together as Normal was able to finish off the doubleheader sweep with their 7-3 victory.

Inside The Box Score 

• The Hoots outhit the CornBelters 8-7.
• Zach Beatty hit two solo home runs.
• Nick Harms hit his third home run of the season.

How it Happened

• The CornBelters got off to a quick start again in game two, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning. Jackson Blemler drove in the first run on an RBI double. Blemler would come around to score later on in the inning on an RBI single from Case Sanderson.
• Normal extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning. Colin Kalinowski hit an RBI single. Kalinowski would score later in the inning as Payton Dillingham hit into a fielder’s choice pushing the score to 4-0.
• The Hoots responded in the top of the third inning as Harms hit a solo home run.
• Beatty launched his first of two home runs in the top of the fourth inning to make it a 4-2 Corn Belters lead.
• Normal tacked onto their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs. Tyler Bickers stole home, Peter Johnson walked with bases loaded to bring home Easton Harris from home; Johnson capped off the inning as he scored on an error.
• Beatty hit his second home run of the ballgame in the top of the second inning, cutting the lead to 7-3 for the CornBelters.

Up Next

The Hoots continue their road trip on Thursday, June 29 as they take on the Alton RiverDragons at Llyod Hopkins Field in Alton, IL. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CST.

coverage can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).