The River City Rascals were unable to finish off a series sweep of the Joliet Slammers on Sunday, dropping the finale 12-7 to the Joliet Slammers at CarShield Field. London Lindley had four of Joliet’s 19 hits, and also drove in two runs in the victory. LJ Kalawaia, Riley Krane, and Peyton Isaacson each drove in two runs on three hits for the Slammers.
After falling behind early, the Rascals offense erupted for four runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to an RBI double from Trevor Achenbach and a three-run homer from Nolan Meadows. However, the Slammers struck for five runs in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. Tanner Murphy and Cody Livesay each had RBI doubles in the sixth inning, and Braxon Martinez led-off the seventh with a home run, but it wasn’t enough. The Slammers never took their foot off the gas, scoring three huge insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
Rascals starter Travis McQueen allowed five runs in four innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Reliever Tanner Cable (1-2) took the loss, allowing three runs, two of which were earned. Slammers starter Tyler Jandron (2-2) earned the victory, going five innings, allowing five runs and striking out six with no walks.
The Rascals (16-11) resume play on Tuesday across the mighty Mississippi River in Sauget, Ill., for the first of a three-game set against the Gateway Grizzlies. First pitch of the opener is slated for 7:05 p.m. CDT. Brendan Feldmann is expected to start on the mound for the Rascals.
