SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The River City Rascals suffered a 4-3 loss to the Schaumburg Boomers on Friday night, but still clinched a playoff berth by virtue of the Southern Illinois Miners loss to the Lake Erie Crushers. LJ Kalawaia drove in all three Rascals runs in the loss.
Quincy Nieporte hit a grand slam in the third inning to put the Boomers in front. Kalawaia delivered an RBI single in the fourth to cut into the lead, and added a two-run single in the eighth to trim the deficit to just one, but the Rascals’ rally fell short.
Rascals starter Keenan Bartlett (2-3) suffered the loss, allowing four runs in four innings. Connor Reed (5-8) earned the win for the Boomers, going three scoreless innings. Boomers closer Connor Eller earned his 21st save of the season.
The Rascals (53-41) face the Boomers (46-48) in Game 2 of the series tomorrow night, with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. CDT.
