FLORENCE, Ky. — The Rascals’ best laid plans went quickly awry in their bid to end the first road trip of the season above .500. Despite having two pitchers, including the one slated to start, get injured, River City (3-2) pulled out a 6-5 win over the Freedom (1-5) thanks to more timely hitting.
The Rascals’ Tim Koons was scheduled to get his second start of the season looking for his first win after losing for the first time during the regular season since August 11, 2014 his last time out. However, Koons left the stadium with an undisclosed medical issue after warming up.
Left-handed rookie Vin Roth was pressed into service as the last-minute starter. In a tough spot, Roth pitched admirably but gave up three runs in an inning of work.
Unfortunately, Koons was not the only injury the Rascals’ pitching staff had to work around. Joe Pavlovich relieved Roth but after facing two batters left with a lower body injury.
Fortunately, the River City bats continued to answer anything the Freedom threw at them.
After falling behind 3-0, the Rascals took the lead back with a pair of runs in the second and fourth innings. In the second, Robby Enslen’s single scored Josh Silver after his leadoff walk, and Dominique Taylor’s sacrifice fly scored Griff Gordon. Taylor gave the Rascals the lead with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded in the fourth.
The Freedom tied things back up at 4-4 in the fifth, but Gordon took a hit by pitch with the bases loaded for the go-ahead RBI.
Player-coach Josh Ludy showed why he is hitting coach and DH by adding a much needed insurance run in the top of the eighth with his first, Rascals’ second, home run of the season.
Will Schierholz was credited the win for two scoreless innings of work. Zach Treece, who was the hero on the mound the night before, got the 1.1 inning save.
The Rascals will host the Gateway Grizzlies for their home opener and the first game at the newly-dubbed CarShield Field on Friday. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m.
Follow @TimJKaiser on twitter for all your Rascals news throughout the summer.
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[…] the Freedom. The Rascal pitching staff rebounded nicely, and the offense scored 17 runs to lead the three-game sweep. The Rascals are led at the plate by third baseman Josh Silver (.529/.600/.706) and center fielder […]
[…] Rascals are 5-1 since their season-opening series against Lake Erie. River City swept the Florence Freedom and then took the last two of their first home series from the Gateway Grizzlies. Less than 10 games […]
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