FL River City Rascals

Clem Complete In Win

Published on July 1, 2007 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


O'Fallon, MO--The River City Rascals brought all facets of their game to the ballpark on Sunday night, as good hitting, fielding and pitching led to a 7-0 win over the Southern Illinois Miners.

Rascals' starter Chris Clem was the story, as he threw a complete game shutout to pick up his first win of the season. After the game, Clem was happy to finally get his first "W."

"It's nice to finally get the monkey off my back," said Clem. "The team played really well tonight. The guys are starting to get used to their roles and are producing."

After the first two innings went by scoreless, the Rascals were able to grab the lead in the third by scoring two runs on two hits to take a 2-0 lead.

Second baseman Jeff Landry grounded out to start the inning, followed by a strikeout to center fielder Ryan Czyz. Right fielder Phil Laurent was able to smack a two out double to put a runner in scoring position for first baseman Bobby Mosby. Mosby delivered in a big way, crushing a 2-run home run, his 11th of the year, over the left field bleachers to give the Rascals the 2-0 lead.

That would be all Clem needed as he allowed a runner past first base only three times in the game.

But the Rascals piled on the runs anyway. The scoring continued in the fifth, as River City tacked on a run to push the lead to 3-0.

Laurent hit a two out single to bring up Mosby again with a runner on and two out. Mosby came through smoking an RBI double into the left-center field gap to score Laurent.

The Rascals added three more runs in the seventh on three hits to go up 6-0. A leadoff single by Czyz was followed by a walk from Laurent to put two men on with nobody out. One out later, designated hitter Andy Bettis hit an RBI ground rule double to score Czyz. After left fielder Trey Hendricks grounded out, shortstop Brad Hough snuck a single by the diving Ralph Santana at short to score Laurent. A bad throw from Santana that skipped past first baseman Scott Simon allowed Bettis to score, as well.

River City put up one more run in the eighth to complete the scoring and give them a 7-0 lead.

With two outs, Czyz hit what looked to be a basic single to left-center field. Czyz was running hard the whole way and was able to push the hit into a double. Laurent then drove Czyz in with an RBI single.

The quick two hour and 33 minute game ended with Clem (1-3) receiving the win after throwing nine innings giving up five hits, all singles, with three walks and nine strikeouts. Miners' starter Ryan Quigley (0-1) received the loss in his professional debut, as he pitched 5.1 innings allowing three runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

The Rascals (13-25) are at home again tomorrow to face the Evansville Otters at 7:05 pm at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

*Puppy Chow*

Tomorrow, Monday July 2, is a Purina Mighty Monday! The first 200 people through the gates will receive a free bad of Purina dog or cat treats. Fans are also encouraged to bring their dogs out to enjoy a night at the park. All fans, human or canine, can enjoy $1 hot dogs throughout the evening.

Check out the River City Rascals Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from July 1, 2007


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