FL River City Rascals

Rascals Fall Just Short, Otters Take Finale

Published on August 1, 2014 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


The Rascals and Otters met for a rubber match Friday night, and like the first two contests in the series, it was a slugfest. Unfortunately, the Rascals fell just short of overcoming an early nine-run deficit, falling to the Otters 12-11.

The Rascals sent Tommy Organ to the mound to start. Organ struggled from the outset, giving up a leadoff homerun to the Evansville leadoff man, 3B Josh Allen. Allen sent a resounding shot over the left center field fence to make it 1-0 Otters.

The Rascals got it back though in the bottom of the first inning. Facing Trevor Walch, they loaded the bases for 1B Brian McConkey, who picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to even the score at 1 apiece.

Things really fell apart in the second for Organ. He gave up a leadoff double to DH Chris Sweeney and things just got worse from there. RF J.R. Higley singled home Sweeney and then came around himself on a two-run homer by C Kolin Conner. Josh Allen would tag Organ again before the inning was over, evicting another one of Organ's deliveries from the yard for his second blast of the evening. That made it 5-1 Otters.

The Rascals made it 5-2 in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout by CF Eric Williams that scored 3B Steve Carrillo. But the troubles continued for Organ, who surrendered another two in the third. He would not return for the fourth, having surrendered 7 runs on 6 hits. He also passed out a walk and an HBP to go along with three strikeouts.

Taking his place on the mound was Ryan Brockett. The young hurler from Encino, CA was making his professional debut. He was rudely welcomed to the pro ranks by SS Phillip Wilson, who took him out to left for a leadoff homerun in the fourth frame. He would surrender three more runs on three more hits for the Otters and an error committed by the defense behind him. That made it 11-2.

But the Rascals were a long way from being out of it. They staged a two-out rally, getting a 2-RBI single from DH Saxon Butler and then a three-run homerun from 1B Brian McConkey to cut the lead to 11-7. They would reduce it further in the fifth, getting another RBI groundout from Eric Williams to make it 11-8. That would be last inning for Walch, who would ultimately be the winning pitcher, despite surrendering eight earned runs on nine hits.

The Otters tagged the third pitcher of the evening for the Rascals, Chandler Jagodzinksi, for a tally in the sixth to rebuild the four-run advantage. That run came courtesy of DH Chris Sweeney who took Jagodzinski over the wall in right for a two-out solo jack.

The Rascals made it 12-10 in the bottom of the seventh, with 2B Hector Crespo coming in on a sac fly by Carrillo and SS Johnny Morales singling home Eric Williams with two outs. Those runs came off of Evan Mott.

The Otters got a couple of men aboard in the eighth, but southpaw Patrick Crider helped them strand both to keep it a 12-10 contest. The Rascals made it 12-11 in the their half of the inning and very nearly completely erased the deficit in the bottom of the ninth. Johnny Morales tripled off closer Eric Massingham with two outs in the final frame to bring in Saxon Butler. Butler took Massingham deep to right center, but unfortunately the ball fell just short of getting out of the park. Instead, it died in the glove of Higley to give the Otters a 12-11 win.

With the victory, the Otters took the series 2-1. It was the twenty-sixth loss of the season for the Rascals, who battled all night but could not compensate for some less than stellar defense. The team finished with three errors in the game. They will look to right the ship as they travel to Southern Illinois to open a fresh three-game series with the Miners.

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Frontier League Stories from August 1, 2014


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