FL River City Rascals

Hansen Lifts Rascals with Walk-Off HR

Published on July 30, 2014 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


After a four and a half hour ballgame on Monday, the Rascals entered extra-innings for the second night in a row. This five and a half hour ballgame- nine minutes away from the Frontier League record- would end in the bottom of the 13th on a walk-off home run off of the bat of rookie outfielder Brian Hansen.

After another tough loss in game two of the series, manager Steve Brook sent new-to-the-rotation Kyle Brady to face opposing starter Bobby Shore. Following a two-game losing streak, the Rascals tried their best to get back on the horse with a win in game three, as they desperately wanted to avoid the sweep.

Brady was able to start off the top of the first with a strong inning of work as he retired three of four batters- including two strikeouts- to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the first. Shore then quickly matched the Rascals' righty, by facing the minimum in the bottom of the first- keeping the game 0-0 after one.

The Rascals' starter Kyle Brady would keep his momentum going on the bump in the top of the second, as he set down the Normal hitters 1-2-3 while striking out two. Shore would once again match his counterpart in the bottom of the second, stranding a runner aboard on a groundout to short- keeping the game scoreless after two in O'Fallon.

Following the top of the third, in which starter Kyle Brady struck out two more batters- making it six through three for him- the Rascals came to the plate to try and push across the first run of the ballgame. No matter what Brady did however, Shore would seemingly match him. In the bottom of the third, starter Bobby Shore would strikeout the side to keep the score 0-0 after three at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

A scary moment in the top of the fourth, as River City starter Kyle Brady went down hard after a pitch to Aaron Dudley. While he was able to walk off the field on his own, his night did come to an end after pitching 4.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out six and walking only one. Chase Doremus then came out of the bullpen to take over for Brady on the hill.

Unfortunately, Doremus came in out of the pen to allow three straight hits to Normal batters, giving them the first lead of the ballgame on a two-out RBI single by Richard Lucas- making it 1-0 Cornbelters after three and a half. The Rascals would then put two runners on base thanks to back-to-back hits, only to have the rally thwarted on three straight strikeouts by starter Bobby Shore- keeping River City scoreless through four.

The situation then deteriorated even further as Normal put two runners on before leftfielder Sam Judah hit a monster three-run home run to make it 4-0 Belters. Normal would also add another run on a bases-loaded RBI single off the bat of Ozney Guillen to make it 5-0 Cornbelters after four and a half.

The Rascals then finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth as shortstop Johnny Morales belted his second home run of the season- a two-out, two-run shot- cutting the deficit to only three after five. However, Normal would almost immediately answer back, as a two-out solo shot homer off the bat of Sam Judah- his second of the night- reasserted the four-run lead for the Belters.

Shore finally exited the ballgame in the seventh after pitching six great innings, allowing only two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking three. Then the Raskies re-retaliated in the bottom of the seventh, bringing the game within three on an RBI single by Saxon Butler- making it 6-3 Normal, before catcher Joe Staley hit a mammoth three-run home run over the centerfield clubhouse to tie the game at six apiece after seven.

Following scoreless eighth and ninth innings for both sides, and a four-hour regulation game, we headed into extra-innings for the second night in a row with the score knotted at six.

No further runs would come across until the bottom of the 13th inning when rookie outfielder Brian Hansen came up to knock a walk-off home run to win the game by a score of 7-6 River City. The win went to Chandler Jagodzinski with the loss going to Charley Short.

Come out and watch game one of the series against the Evansville Otters tomorrow night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm CT. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.rivercityrascals.com or by calling (636)-240-BATS.

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Frontier League Stories from July 30, 2014


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