O’FALLON, MO–The River City Rascals clinched a Frontier League postseason berth with their 4-1 win over the Florence Freedom on Saturday night at CarShield Field. The Rascals can clinch the West Division title with a win or an Evansville loss tomorrow night. Zach Lavy finished the night with three doubles for the Rascals.
The Freedom got on the board first with a solo home run from Caleb Lopes in the first inning. The Rascals tied the game with an RBI fielder’s choice from Trevor Achenbach in the fifth, and took the lead in the seventh on an RBI fielder’s choice from Kevin Suarez and an RBI double from Achenbach. Paul Kronenfeld added an insurance run with his solo shot in the eighth.
Jason Zgardowski (1-0) earned the win for the Rascals, going 3 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in relief of starter Dalton Roach, who allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings. Cody Mincey picked up his 23rd save by closing out the win in the ninth inning.
Freedom starter Tyler Gibson (4-5) took the loss, allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
The Rascals (51-44) look for the sweep over the Freedom (49-46) tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm CT.
