Chiefs Fall Despite Late Push Against Beloit

PEORIA, IL – A furious eighth-inning rally brought the Peoria Chiefs within striking distance on Sunday afternoon, but the Beloit Sky Carp held on for an 11-7 win at Dozer Park in the series finale.

Down 10-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, Peoria sent ten men to the plate in a spirited comeback. Trey Paige got it started with a one-out single that brought in two runs, aided by a throwing error from center fielder Emarrion Boyd. Jon Jon Gazdar followed with an RBI single to score Paige and make it 10-5. After back-to-back walks to Zach Levenson and Ian Petrutz, Ryan Campos lined a two-run single to cut the deficit to 10-7. With the tying run at the plate, Miguel Villarroel struck out to end the threat.

The Sky Carp tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning. Payton Green walked and later scored on a triple from Jay Beshears to extend the lead to 11-7. Peoria got one runner aboard in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t rally further.

Beloit jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. Yiddi Cappe set the tone by homering to left field in the first at bat of the game. In the fourth inning, Beloit loaded the bases and added three more runs, one on a bases-loaded walk, one on a groundout, and another on a wild pitch from Tyler Bradt. Chiefs starter Gerardo Salas was charged with three runs over 3 ⅓ innings in the loss.

Peoria got on the board in the fifth inning. After loading the bases with no outs, Campos singled in a run. Villarroel then grounded into a double play, which plated another run to trim the lead to 4-2, but Brayden Jobert struck out to end the inning.

Beloit padded its lead in the sixth inning and broke the game open in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Eric Rataczak singled in a run before Boyd cleared the bases with a three-run double, pushing the score to 9-2.

Sky Carp starter Will Schomberg was dominant in his outing, tossing three hitless innings and striking out five. Right-hander Will Kemptner closed it out, recording the final four outs to earn the save.

Peoria returns to action Tuesday night at Dozer Park to open a six-game series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Cade Winquest is scheduled to start for the Chiefs. Peoria will take the field as the Perros Bomberos de Peoria, presented by Stone Brewing.