By Kevin Hain | June 23, 2026
AUGUSTA, NEW JERSEY – Following a weekend home series victory over the Down East Bird Dawgs, the Sussex County Miners welcomed in the Schaumburg Boomers for a three-game series. The Boomers’ offense exploded for 19 runs en route to a historic victory for Schaumburg.
Sussex County turned to right-handed starting pitcher Jordan Sesar (3-0, 4.79 ERA) to toe the slab for game one of the series, looking to maintain his perfect record on the mound.
Schaumburg quickly greeted Sesar with the bases loaded in the top half of the first inning, where first baseman Kyle Fitzgerald lined a two-run double into right field, giving the Boomers the lead before the Miners would even come to the plate. The Boomers would tack on a third run in the inning courtesy of left fielder Cole Turney’s RBI groundout, before Sesar ended the inning with his first punchout of the night.
The Boomers’ offense continued to produce in the second inning, as the first four hitters of the inning all reached base safely, sparking another three-run inning for Schaumburg, who now found themselves up 6-0 five outs into the ballgame.
Right-handed starter Ross Thompson (5-1, 4.22 ERA) would take the mound looking to extend his team-leading win total for the Schaumburg Boomers.
Sussex County would threaten to get back into the ballgame early, with four total baserunners within the first two frames, but were unable to score any, stranding three of them in the process.
Turney led off the third inning for Schaumburg with a 427-foot no-doubt blast out to left field, putting the Boomers up by a touchdown against Sussex County early. A two-run double from right fielder Kellum Clark would knock Sesar out of the game. Jorge Garcia came in for relief and was immediately greeted with a two-run home run, courtesy of third baseman Anthony Calarco, capping off a six-run inning for Schaumburg.
Sesar finished tonight’s game with 2.2 innings pitched, 11 runs allowed, 10 of which were earned, 4 walks, and a pair of strikeouts.
It would not be until the bottom of the fourth when Miner first baseman Mahki Backstrom would get Sussex County off the deck, putting them on the board with a solo shot to right. The home run marked the sixth of the season for Backstrom, moving him into a tie for second for the team lead in homers.
The Boomers responded to the Miners’ run with a three-run fifth inning and a four-run sixth, capped off by another Calarco two-run homer, expanding the lead to an astounding 18-run lead.
Thompson dazzled with sixth brilliant frames of pitching for the Boomers, delivering 6.0 innings pitched of one-run ball, surrendering seven hits, while striking out three and walking two.
The teams’ respective bullpens would put up zeroes on the board across the final three innings of the ball game.
The Miners will face the Schaumburg Boomers for game two of the series Wednesday night, with first pitch slotted for 7:05 p.m.