O’FALLON, Mo. — The River City Rascals shut-out the Washington Wild Things 9-0 on Saturday night at CarShield Field to take the 2-1 series lead. Alec Byrd and Travis McQueen combined to allow just five hits, and Kameron Esthay homered and drove in four runs in the victory. Both Esthay and Trevor Achenbach each recorded three hits.
The Rascals put up four in the first, on a two-run double from Esthay, an RBI double from Braxton Martinez and a run-scoring single from Nolan Meadows. Esthay then hit a two-run blast in the second to make it 6-0. Martinez added a two-run homer of his own in the fifth, which was followed by an RBI single from James Morisano.
Byrd (1-0) earned the win in his Rascals debut, allowing just three hits in five scoreless innings, walking one and striking out four. McQueen, also in his debut, struck out five in four scoreless innings. Ty Mondile (0-1) took the loss for the Wild Things, allowing nine runs in 4 1/3 innings.
The Rascals (2-1) look for the series victory over the Wild Things (1-2) tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m. CDT. Dalton Roach will make his season debut for the Rascals, and will be opposed by left-hander Nick Wegmann for Washington.
