River City Rascals rookie Micah Kaczor threw 8 1/3 scoreless inning as the Rascals defeated the Southern Illinois Miners 3-0 for their seventh shutout of the season on Friday night. Kaczor (2-1) held the Miners to four hits, and struck out seven without issuing a walk in the series opener at CarShield Field. The Miners did not record their first hit until the fifth inning.
All of the Rascals’ offense came via the long ball. Zach Lavy put them on the board with a two-run blast in the second, and Andrew Penner added an insurance run with a solo shot in the sixth. The Miners never mounted a serious threat until the top of the ninth, when they got back-to-back hits with one out. Rascals closer Jason Zgardowski then came on to retire the next two hitters in order to earn his sixth save of the season.
Miners starter Chase Cunningham (6-3) allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits over six innings in a hard-luck loss. He walked three and struck out four on the night.
The Rascals (30-26) and Miners (29-27) will play a doubleheader tonight, with the first pitch of the first game scheduled for 5:05 p.m. CDT. Brendan Feldmann and Travis McQueen are the expected Rascals starting pitchers for the twin-bill.
