Sports
Rascals Report: River City One Win Away From Playoff Berth
Frontier League-best Rascals are 0-2 in game where it has a chance to clinch a playoff spot.
The River City Rascals have done a lot of winning this season—a league-best 55 games—but need just one more to clinch a playoff spot.
The leaders of the Frontier League are one win away from a third straight trip to the postseason and a chance to repeat as League Champions. In two shots at punching their playoff ticket, the Rascals have lost twice to Joliet.
By dropping back-to-back games to the Slammers, the Rascals are finally in a losing streak. It's the first time since June 16 and June 17 that the Rascals have lost consecutive games.
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Despite the loses, the Rascals are still in the drivers seat in the Frontier League. River City is seven games up on the Southern Illinois Miners in the West Division and still has the best record (55-21) in the league.
Looking Back
The Rascals are 3-3 in the last six and 2-3 on its current road trip.
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- Sunday, Aug. 7: The the Joliet Slammers 17-7.
- Monday, Aug. 8: Off.
- Tuesday, Aug. 9: Windy City took out the Rascals 8-2.
- Wednesday, Aug. 10: The Rascals took out the Windy City ThunderBolts with a 5-1 win.
- Thursday, Aug. 11: River City kept things going by beating the ThunderBolts 4-3.
- Friday, Aug. 12: With a chance to clinch a playoff spot, the Rascals blew a late lead and fell to the Joliet Slammers 7-6.
- Saturday, Aug. 13: Joliet once again had the Rascals' number, winning 4-2.
Looking Ahead
By spending six days away from home, River City returns to the friendly confines of T.R. Hughes this week. River City will have a six-game home stand starting Tuesday, Aug. 16.
- Sunday, Aug. 14: River City Rascals at Joliet Slammers (2:05 p.m. at Silver Cross)
- Monday, Aug. 15: Off.
- Tuesday, Aug. 16: Normal CornBelters at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes)
- Wednesday, Aug. 17: Normal CornBelters at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes)
- Thursday, Aug. 18: Normal CornBelters at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes)
- Friday, Aug. 19: Evansville Otters at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes)
- Saturday, Aug. 20: Evansville Otters at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes)
Who’s Hot
River City continues to have hot bats and hot arms.
- Infielder Bobby Burk is hitting .421 (8-for-19) in his last six games.
- Outfielder Stephen Holdren doesn't have a homer in his last six games, but he's still hot. The league-leader with 20 bombs, Holdren has a .381 average with seven RBIs in the last week.
- Pitcher Don Lisi tossed a seven-inning gem on Aug. 11. Lisi struck out three and gave up just one earned run in the win. He's 6-1 with a 3.80 ERA on the year.
- Pitcher Josh Lowey struck out six and gave up just one run in 6.1 innings of work on Aug. 10. Lowey is 8-2 with a 2.41 ERA this summer.
Who’s Not
Some Rascals, but not many, are struggling.
- Catcher Danny Sawyer is 1-for-18 (.056) in his last six games.
- Reliever Tony Marsala is 0-1 with a 16.20 ERA in his last two games. He went 1.2 innings pitched and gave up three earned runs.
Standings
As of Sunday, Aug. 14, at 12 p.m.
3-7
East DivisionWLPCTGBSTREAKLAST 10 Joliet Slammers 46 30 0.605 - 5W 8-2 Lake Erie Crushers 40 36 0.526 6 1L 9-1 Traverse City Beach Bums 40 37 0.519 6.5 2L 5-5 Windy City ThunderBolts 38 39 0.494 8.5 1L 3-7 Washington Wild Things 33 42 0.440 12.5 1L 4-6 Rockford RiverHawks 31 46 0.403 15.5 5L 3-7Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.