Miners finally claw one out: Dorn's homer helps Southern Illinois snap four-game skid
By Robert Crow, The Southern

MARION - The Southern Illinois Miners were sick of losing these close games, particularly at home. They were tired of finding ways to lose games, instead of making plays to win them.With one big swing and plenty of big pitches, some of those bad memories began to fade away.


Devoid of big hits and solid relief pitching for much of the season, the Miners got both on Tuesday. Tim Dorn's solo home run put the Miners ahead in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Southern Illinois' bullpen threw 21/3 innings of scoreless relief, resulting in a 2-1 win over Evansville at Rent One Park.The win snapped a season-long four-game losing streak for the Miners (4-9). During that stretch, Southern Illinois twice gave up leads in the ninth inning, and once more lost in 12 innings.So, in their minds, it was more than a little important to hang on in a close game."Yeah, it was," Miners manager Mike Pinto said. "I'd sure like a blowout in our favor, though. I'm going to end up with a Maalox sponsorship with this team."After leaving five runners on during the first two innings, it looked as if the Miners would be in for another long, unproductive night at the plate. Eric Vega changed that in the fifth inning, ripping a grounder through the Otters' infield for an RBI single to give the Miners a 1-0 lead.The Miners' offense showed signs of life throughout the entire game, with their leadoff hitters getting hits in each of the first five innings. As a team, Southern Illinois got 10 hits. But none was bigger than Dorn's blast.With one out in the eighth, the 6-foot-8 first baseman got a belt-high fastball on the outer half of the plate from Evansville's Justin Jordan and blasted it over the right-center field fence, sending the crowd of 5,341 into a frenzy and giving Southern Illinois the lead."I wanted to do something special, maybe hit a double or something," Dorn said. "But I wasn't expecting to hit a homer or anything like that."It was just the latest big hit for Dorn, who has been the hottest Miner over the past week. In Monday's loss to Gateway, he went 5-for-5. He followed that up with a 2-for-4 effort Tuesday, including the game-winner.That effort hasn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the Miners, who seem to be in awe - justifiably so - of the way Dorn is swinging the bat."Oh my god," Pinto said. "He's seeing the ball - it must be the size of a basketball to him right now."And for the first time in nearly a week, Southern Illinois' bullpen made sure that late lead would stick.Starter Nick Tisone was brilliant for his first six innings, holding the Otters scoreless and not allowing a baserunner until the fourth inning. He started to fade in the seventh, however, allowing Evansville to tie the game on an RBI single from Shaun Lehmann. Tisone was then pulled in favor of Chris McGraw, who got out of a two-out, two-on jam to leave the score tied.Brian Logan relieved McGraw with one out in the eighth and also held the Otters scoreless. Marion native Travis Hope got the call in the ninth inning and mowed the Otters down in order for his first save.Hope was named the Miners' closer earlier in the day, taking over for Roy Irle, who will move up into the team's starting rotation. And the right-hander showed few nerves with the game on the line."I just want to go out there and do a good job. I just want to get outs," Hope said. "Anytime you can win, it's a big confidence boost, but tonight was like icing on the cake. It feels so good to finally get one of these under our belt."The teams close out a two-game series tonight at Rent One Park before heading to Evansville on Thursday for a two-game set.l Miners release DH: Southern Illinois released designated hitter Casey Smith on Tuesday. Expected to be one of the team's biggest power threats, Smith was instead one of the most disappointing spots in the Miners' lineup. He hit .119 with two home runs and five RBIs in 12 games, but ended his Southern Illinois career in an 0-for-29 slump