JOLIET, Ill. – Rick DeHart (pictured) surrendered four runs on back-to-back home runs in the first inning, giving the Joliet JackHammers a quick 4-0 lead as they cruised to a 6-1 victory over the first place Kansas City T-Bones tonight at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Ill.  Joliet now trails Kansas City by four and-a-half games in the Northern League’s South Division.

JackHammers starter Brian Forystek held the T-Bones to one hit in a scoreless top of the first before his offense went to work against DeHart.  Tim Hutting singled with one out before Juan Diaz walked to put runners on first and second for former T-Bone Chad Ehrnsberger.  Ehrnsberger homered to left and Derek Nicholson blasted a solo shot to center to give Joliet the early advantage.

The JackHammers added another run in the third on an RBI single by Eric Scriven, scoring Nicholson who led off the frame with a walk.  DeHart left after five innings, surrendering five runs on nine hits as he fell to 2-2 on the season.

Forystek held Kansas City to just one run on five hits in six innings of work as he improved to 4-3.  The T-Bones lone run in the contest came in the sixth inning when Calvin Pickering drove in Neb Brown with an RBI groundout to second.

Dan Jackson allowed one run on three hits in two innings of relief for Kansas City, surrendering an RBI double to Ehrnsberger in the sixth.  Travis Schlichting pitched a scoreless eighth for the T-Bones.  Aaron Williams threw scoreless seventh and eighth innings for Joliet and Matt Petrusek struck out the side in a perfect ninth to finish the game.

Chad Ehrnsberger paced Joliet, going two-for-four with a double, home run and four RBI.

The two teams face off in the rubber match of their three-game series tomorrow night with Chris Krawczyk going for Kansas City versus Josh Regits of Joliet.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.

Game Notes:  Calvin Pickering’s on-base streak ended at 33 games tonight as the veteran slugger went 0-for-four with three strikeouts.  It sits as the third longest on-base streak in the Northern League this season…Benjamin failed to collect an extra-base hit for the first time in five games, going one-for-four with a single in the contest…Kansas City’s five-game win streak ties for their longest of the season, a feat they’ve accomplished twice in 2007.  Both five-game streaks have occurred in the second half of the season.  Their longest of the first-half was three games, accomplished three times.