Pistol Shrimp lose to Normal CornBelters on walkoff single

Left fielder Ben Higgins hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday to lift the Normal CornBelters to a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in Normal.

In a back-and-forth collegiate summer baseball game, the Shrimp struck first when leadoff hitter Louis Perona was hit by a pitch, stole second and third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Handron.

The CornBelters responded with three runs in the bottom of the first.

Alton Gyselman hit a solo home run for the Shrimp in the third, and the Shrimp took the lead with three runs in the fifth.

In the fifth, Gyselman hit an RBI triple, Perona hit a sacrifice fly, and Tyler Dorsch hit a solo homer.

Normal retook the lead with a run in the fifth and another in the seventh before the Shrimp tied it at 6 in the eighth when Handron doubled and later scored on a bunt by Cody Kashimoto.

Gyselman finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs for the Shrimp.

Justin Rios took the loss in relief, allowing one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 2 1/3 innings.

The Shrimp (10-15) play at the Clinton LumberKings at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Clinton, Iowa.