JOLIET, Ill. — The River City Rascals cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Joliet Slammers on Saturday night at DuPage Medical Group Field, evening the series at a game apiece.
Micah Kaczor (1-0), who made his professional debut, had seven shutout innings. The rookie allowed just a single hit, a fifth inning double and only walked one as he struck out four in the victory.
JD Hearn homered and also doubled to lead the Rascals' offense. Hearn gave the Rascals the early lead with his solo shot in the second, and the Rascals added another run on an RBI single from Zach Lavy in the fifth. They took a 3-0 lead in the seventh, as Trevor Achenbach scored after tagging up from second on an errant throw into third base, one of four Slammers errors on the night.
SUBSCRIBE: 5 On Your Side's Sports Plus Podcast
The Slammers had the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth, but Tanner Cable induced a flyout from Riley Krane to keep the shutout intact. After Brian Parreira singled home the lone Slammers run in the ninth, Jason Zgardowski recovered to strikeout Tyler Coolbaugh for his first save of the season, sealing the win.
Slammers starter Keegan Long (2-4) allowed three runs, two of which were earned, in seven innings of work. He walked five and also struck out five.
The Rascals (19-18) look for the series victory against the Slammers (13-25) Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. CDT. Travis McQueen will take the mound for the Rascals in the series finale.
Top sports stories people are reading right now:
