FL River City Rascals

Bums Walk Away With It

Published on June 24, 2007 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


O'Fallon, MO--All the walks the River City Rascals have been giving up over their weekend series with the Traverse City Beach Bums finally caught up with them Sunday night, as the lost 11-6 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

The Rascals walked 12 batters a night after coming away with the win while walking 13. Rascal's manager Toby Rumfield sympathized with his team's offense after the game.

"It's not fair to our offense," said Rumfield referring to the Rascal bullpen's ineffectiveness. "You can't concentrate on the negative, though. We did win the series and that's what we have to do."

The Rascals were able to take the lead in the first, jumping on Beach Bums' starter Ryan Gehring for three runs on four hits.

Center fielder Ryan Czyz started the game off with a single that ricochet off Gehring's foot. After trainers deemed Gehring fit to continue, he gave up a single to shortstop Brad Hough followed by an RBI double from first baseman Bobby Mosby. Right fielder Phil Laurent drove in a run with an RBI sacrifice fly to left, then a single from designated hitter Andy Bettis was followed by a sacrifice fly by third baseman Angel Colon to drive in the final run.

The Beach Bums came right back in the second scoring three runs of their own, only one of them earned, to tie the game at three.

After Rascals' starter Chad Catalano struck out left fielder Jeff Vincent to start the inning, second baseman Lance Koenig and center fielder Zach Kalter singled to put runners on first and second with one out. One out later, designated hitter Sam Orr walked to load the bases then third baseman Jeff Brown hit an RBI single to bring in Koenig. Right fielder J.T. Thomas followed and hit a ground ball to Rascals' second baseman Jeff Landry who misplayed the ball allowing everyone to reach safely and bringing another run home. A bases loaded walk to shortstop Justin Holmes drove in the final run of the inning.

The Rascals were able to re-take the lead in the third when they scraped across one run to go ahead 4-3.

A leadoff double by Hough was followed by a lineout from Mosby and a strikeout from Laurent left Hough standing at second with two out. Bettis was able to pick up his teammates though, as he hit a two out RBI single to give the Rascals the lead.

The se-saw scoring continued in the fourth when the Beach Bums scored three runs on three hits to take the lead 6-4.

Back-to-back walks to catcher Matt Rademacher and Orr started the inning, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Brown putting runners on second and third with one out. An RBI groundout from Thomas brought in the first run, followed by a 2-run homerun by Holmes.

The score would remain the same all the way until the eighth, when Traverse City tacked on another run to extend their lead to 7-4.

A one out double by Thomas was followed by a single from Holmes then an RBI double from first baseman Curtis Ledbetter to drive home Thomas.

The Rascals answered the Beach Bums with a run of their own in the eighth to narrow the score to 7-5.

After Mosby grounded out to start the inning, Laurent hit a solo homer, his tenth of the year to bring the Rascals within two runs.

The Rascals trailed by only two runs going into the ninth, but the inning proved to be disastrous as the Beach Bums sent 10 men to the plate and scored four times on only two hits to take an 11-5 lead. The Rascals walked five runners in the inning, two of them with the bases loaded to drive in runs.

The Rascals tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Czyz hit a two out solo homerun, his first of the year, to draw the Rascals within 11-6. Hough followed with a double, but Mosby grounded out to end the game.

The game lasted over three and a half hours for the third consecutive night, this one clocking in at 3:38 minutes. Gehring (2-3) received the win for the Beach Bums, pitching 6.2 innings allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Brody Taylor (2-4) got the loss for the Rascals in his debut with the Rascals. Taylor threw 1.2 innings giving up three runs on three hits while walking two.

The Rascals (11-21) have the day off tomorrow, then travel to Gateway to take on the rival Grizzlies on Tuesday.

*Puppy Chow*

The Rascals return home on Friday, June 29 and will have lots of fun waiting! As always it is Fireworks Friday presented by Progress West Healthcare, so make sure to stay after the game to see a fantastic fireworks show! It is also Campout with the Rascals Night! Fans may purchase special campout tickets that will allow them to campout on the field after the game. Make sure to bring a tent and your P.J.'s! Also look for promotions on July 1, 2, and 3rd.

Check out the River City Rascals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Frontier League Stories from June 24, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central