O’Fallon, MO – In the only day game the River City Rascals will play at home this season, they fell to the Midwest Sliders with a final score of 13-4.

The Sliders took the series win, which made it the first series the Rascals have dropped on their home field and the first series win for Midwest.

The Sliders scored a run in the first to start off the ball game against right-hander Chris Clem.

In the second inning, the Sliders put up two more runs starting when former Rascal Anthony Albano doubled down the left field line. After a walk put another man on for the Sliders, Jonnie Knoble lined down the right side and scored both men before he was tagged out at second making it 3-0.

Bobby Mosby led off the bottom of the second inning with a base hit into right field. The bases loaded up for Luke Barganier after Chris Raniere was hit-by-a-pitch and Andrew Sweet singled to center field. With no outs, Barganier doubled to right center field. Mosby and Raniere were able to score off the hit, but Sweet was tagged out at home.

The Sliders added another run in the third off of an RBI single extending their lead to 4-2.

Two more insurance runs were added to the Sliders lead in the fifth, when Miguel Magrass hit a two-run homer to left field scoring Contreras who reached on a base hit.

As the Rascals entered the seventh inning without adding any runs since the second, Midwest put up a combined three runs in the sixth and seventh.

River City received a spark from the bench when Randy Rosa entered the game in the top of the inning and stepped up as the leadoff batter, hitting a double that rolled to the center field wall. After Rosa moved to third on a ground ball, Greg Stone knocked in the Rascals’ third run when Contreras could not handle a ground ball for a base hit. Jeff Miller would later plate Stone on an RBI single.

Unfortunately for the Rascals, the Sliders picked up their momentum and scored four more runs in the ninth bringing their total number of hits for the day to 16, and making the score 13-4.

“We got behind in the count today,” said Assistant Coach Bill Browett. “When you’re constantly behind they’re gonna get you.”

The Rascals had a total of 11 hits in the game but stranded 11 runners on base.

“We had guys on base offensively, but we didn’t capitalize when we had the chance,” said Browett.

The winning pitcher for Midwest was John O’Hara (1-0) who made his professional debut. He lasted five innings allowing six hits and two runs. Chris Clem (1-3) picked up his third loss of the season for River City giving up ten hits and seven runs in six innings.

The Rascals (12-9) will play a 3-game series at Consol Energy Park against the Washington Wild Things beginning Friday night at 6:05 p.m CDT. They will return home to face the first place team in the Frontier League Western Division, the Evansville Otters, on Monday June 16 at 7:05 p.m. Gates for Monday’s game will open at 6:05 p.m. and tickets are available by calling (636) 240-BATS or www.rivercityrascals.com.