MARION, IL–The River City Rascals took their second series in a row on Sunday night at Rent One Park, winning their second straight game in the process by beating the Southern Illinois Miners 9-5. Clint Freeman led the Rascals offense with four RBIs, a single-game high for a Rascals hitter in 2018. Scott Grist (2-0) earned the win, going 5.1 innings and allowing three earned runs, while walking two and striking out four.
After both teams were held scoreless through the first three innings, the Rascals put up four runs in the fourth inning, on a two-run single from Freeman and a throwing error from Miners shortstop Luis Jean that brought home two more. They added four more in the fifth inning, on an RBI single from Mike Jurgella, a two-run double from Freeman and a RBI groundout from Kevin Suarez. Suarez added their final run with an RBI single in the seventh inning.
The Miners scored one each in the fourth and fifth, on a sacrifice fly from Romeo Cortina and a run-scoring single from John Holland. They trimmed the defecit to three after Joe Dudek’s three-run homer off Grist in the sixth, but that was as close as they would get.
Rascals relievers Logan Fanning, Tanner Wilt and Joe Iorio combined for 3.2 innings of one-hit ball. Miners starter Billy Griffin (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs in four innings.
The Rascals (5-3) are off Monday, and begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the defending Frontier League champion Shaumburg Boomers at CarShield Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm CT, and coverage will start at 6:25 pm on CityLink TV as Ryne Buchanan will have the call.
