FL River City Rascals

Rascals KO Otters

Published on June 30, 2008 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


O'Fallon, MO - River City rallied and got another star performance by their closer Mike Benacka as he struck out four in 1.1 innings to give the host Rascals a 9-6 win over the Evansville Otters Monday night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

Luke Barganier, who has been batting .378 over the last 11 games, continued to hit tonight with a home run and three RBI's.

The Rascals were trailing after five innings, but exploded during the sixth scoring six runs off losing pitcher Dustin Renfrow (0-2).

River City got on the board in bottom of the third inning with consecutive base hits from Ryan Wehrle and Chris Raniere. With one out, Barganier hit a three-run shot into right center field making the score 3-1 Rascals.

Evansville took the lead back in the fourth, batting through the order and scoring four runs thanks to a bundle of RBI singles.

Coming into the sixth, the Rascals trailed the Otters 6-3. After singling to center field, A.J. Van Slyke was brought home by an RBI single from Andrew Sweet. With two outs, Barganier singled to center field to score another run. With the game tied at six, Jacob Deboer triple in two to left center field, and the final run of the inning was plated thanks to Phil Laurent and an error on Otters third baseman Ryan Bethel, giving the Rascals the lead 9-6.

Gary Lee (1-0) picked up the win for River City pitching 2.2 innings and allowing only one hit. Benacka collected his ninth save of the season. The Rascals starter Chris Clem got the no decision after pitching five innings and giving up six earned.

"We hit a little funk the past few days," Benacka said. ."Lucky for us the whole division is right there, and hopefully tonight's win will send us on a streak."

The River City Rascals begin a six game road trip on Tuesday beginning with the Gateway Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois then moving to Marion, Illinois to play a series against the Southern Illinois Miners. The Rascals will return to T.R. Hughes Ballpark on Tuesday July 8, to face the Traverse City Beach Bums at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available by calling (636) 240-BATS or www.rivercityrascals.com.

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Frontier League Stories from June 30, 2008


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