Chiefs Blow 9th Inning Lead, Lose in 11

Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs were two outs away from regaining the Wild Card lead in the Western Division but ultimately lost their third straight game with a 4-2 home setback in 11 innings to the last-place Burlington Bees. The loss keeps the Chiefs a half game behind Beloit at 26-22 in the second half and 56-61 overall.
The game was scoreless until the seventh inning when the Chiefs broke through against Bees reliever Ty Barkell. Stefan Trosclair tripled to right-center to start the inning and with one out Danny Hudzina's double to left gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead. A two-out walk to Mick Fennell and a single by Dylan Carlson loaded the bases but the Chiefs couldn't add on. 

Austin Warner blanked Burlington over seven innings without allowing a runner past second base. Ronnie Williams got through the eighth but ran into trouble in the ninth inning. A bunt single by Leo Rivas and a sacrifice bunt put the tying run at second with one down. Williams walked Brennan Morgan and Richie Fectau tied the game with a single to right. With runners on the corners, Brandon Sandoval put Burlington on top 2-1 with a single to center before a double play ended the inning. 
The Chiefs rallied in the bottom of the ninth against Jackson Zarubin. Matt Fielder led off with a single and with one out JR Davis drew a walk. Nick Plummer ran for Fiedler at second and Fennell singled to left to tie the game 2-2. Again the Chiefs loaded the bases with two outs on a hit batter but Brian O'Keefe grounded back to the mound to send the game to extras. 
The Chiefs left two on base in the tenth and Burlington took the lead in the 11th against Max Almonte. Rivas led off with a bloop single to left as the Chiefs were playing deep. Jonah Todd walked and with one out Fectau drew an intentional walk to load the bases. Almonte struck out Sandoval but Franklin Navarro delivered a two-run single to left for a 4-2 Bees lead. The Chiefs put one on base in the bottom of the 11th but couldn't get a run home. 
Warner allowed three hits over seven shutout innings in a no-decision. He walked one and struck out five. Williams suffered his second blown save with two runs allowed on three hits and a walk over two innings as he struck out one. Almonte (2-3) took the loss as he allowed two runs on two hits over two innings while walking three and striking out two. 
Notes…Trosclair has a career-high 10-game hit streak, the third longest for any Chiefs player this season…Peoria had been 51-1 when leading after eight innings this season…O'Keefe is tied for seventh on the Chiefs career hits list with 214…Warner has not allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings…In his last two starts he has 16 strikeouts to two walks and one run earned over 14 2/3 innings…The Chiefs are 6-3 at home on Saturday…Evan Mendoza has hit safely in 12 straight games, 10 in State College and his first two with the Chiefs…The Chiefs lead the season series 10-8 against Burlington with one game left…The team commuting has won the last seven games in the series and the road team is 12-6 overall this year…The Chiefs have lost three in a row on two straight home stands…Peoria was 3-for-13 with a runner in scoring position with 13 left on base…At .250 the Chiefs have the worst win/loss percentage in the MWL for extra-inning games this season…Peoria has lost five straight extra-inning games and is 3-9 overall…Peoria hasn't been swept at Dozer Park in a four-game series since August 2013… he series continues on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. as the Chiefs start RH Anthony Shew (1-0, 4.78) against Bees RH Erik Manoah Jr. (5-8, 3.91)… Clifford from PBS will make an appearance… The first 1,000 fans (all ages) will receive a Ryan McCarvel player poster presented by PJStar.com and CityLink… CityLink also presents Homer's Birthday on Sunday… It's Bark in the Park on Sunday, where fans can bring their dogs to the ballgame… It's a PNC Kids Sunday at Dozer Park and kids 12 and under receive $5 tickets and Free hot dog, drink and chips with a paid kids ticket… Kids 12 and under can also get pre-game player autographs… It's a senior Sunday with seniors 55 and over can get $5 tickets when buying them in-person at the Dozer Park box office… Sunday will also be Samaritan Ministries Faith and Family Day… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 1:45 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android… The broadcast is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio App.