O’FALLON, Mo. — The River City Rascals snapped a three-game losing streak in style on Wednesday night at CarShield Field, defeating the Washington Wild Things 9-6 in front of a packed house. The Rascals hit four total homers on the night, including three straight in the third inning. The win trimmed the Rascals’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to just two, with four games remaining in the regular season.
The Wild Things jumped out to an early lead, scoring three in the top of the first inning on an RBI double from Hector Roa and a two-run blast from Cody Erickson. The Rascals countered with a two-run shot from Braxton Martinez in the bottom of the frame. After back-to-back walks in the bottom of the third, LJ Kalawaia delivered a three-run home run to put the Rascals out in front. James Morisano and Zach Lavy followed with solo shots on consecutive pitches.
Washington started to chip away at the lead in the fifth, getting an RBI single from Roa, who scored himself on a throwing error from Morisano throwing to catch Roa stealing third base. The Rascals got an RBI double from Penner in the eighth, his third hit of the game, which was immediately followed by an RBI single Nolan Meadows. Roa added another RBI single in the top of the ninth before Jason Zgardowski struck out Erickson to end the game.
Rascals starter Brendan Feldmann (7-1) earned the win, allowing five runs, four earned, over six innings with ten strikeouts. Wild Things starter Nick Wegmann (6-8) took the loss, allowing seven runs over three innings.
The Rascals (53-39) and Wild Things (35-57) meet again tomorrow night in the finale of a brief two-game series, in what will be the final regular season game for the Rascals at CarShield Field. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CDT, and Taylor Ahearn is expected to take the mound.
