Damen Castillo hits two homers, Pistol Shrimp beat LumberKings

July 16, 2021 at 9:55 pm CDT

The Pistol Shrimp will call Veteran’s Park in Peru home for the upcoming season as both the organization and the city are hopeful to work together for many years to come. (Courtesy)

Damen Castillo blasted a grand slam and a solo home run Friday to power the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp to an 8-3 victory over the Clinton LumberKings at Veterans Park in Peru.

Castillo belted a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to get the Shrimp on the board.

In the third, Keshawn Ogans led off with a solo home run.

Will Worthington drew a walk, Blake Atkins singled and Tom Jurak drew a walk to load the bases, setting up Castillo’s two-out bases clearing bomb to give Illinois Valley a 6-1 lead.

Atkins added a two-run double in the sixth inning to cap the scoring for the Pistol Shrimp.

Ryan Eiermann earned the win on the mound as he allowed two runs on five hits while striking out 10 batters and walking one in 5 2/3 innings.

Eiermann, who improved to 7-0, now has 92 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. He needs 17 more to break the Prospect League record for strikeouts in a season of 108, set by Lafayette’s Brad Depperman in 2017.

Mitch Benson pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts, while Nick Laxner threw two innings, giving up one run on one hit with two strikeouts and a walk.

The Shrimp (14-29) play the Springfield Sliders (19-21) at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Veterans Park.