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Sports

Rascals Win Home Opener 2-1

The Rascals season began Friday with a contest against the Normal CornBelters at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon.

O'FALLON, Mo. - Jason Carr will never forget his first professional hit.     The River City infielder drilled a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the 16th inning on Friday to lead the Rascals to a thrilling 2-1 win over Normal in the season opener before 3,053 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.  Carr, who hails from Payallup, Washington, ended the longest curtain-raiser in the 18-year history of the Frontier League.    

"I was just looking for a ball up in the zone," said Carr. "I focused on getting the bat on the ball.     It was awesome."   The hit will go down as one of the biggest regular-season singles in the 13-year history of the River City franchise It ended a 4 hour 8-minute marathon that featured numerous twists and turns.  "You play one of these games and when you win, you think it was all worth it," said River City manager Steve Brook.    

The night began with the River City organization raising the championship flag from last season. A Budweiser Clydesdale roamed the field and posed for pictures before the contest. O'Fallon Mayor Bill Hennessey was one of several dignitaries to throw out the first ball.

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Carr, one of the last players to make the squad, excelled in two seasons at New Mexico Highlands University. He is third on the school's all-time home run list. He was invited to training camp by Brook with no guarantees, but he impressed the brass with solid performances during workouts and exhibition play.    

River City outfielder Eric Williams began the winning rally by drawing a walk off Jacob Liedka, the 13th pitcher used in the game. Chris McClendon followed with a ringing single to right and Chad Maddox was walked intentionally to load the bases.    Carr then jumped on the second pitch and drilled it to right field.    "Jason Carr, God bless him," said Brook. "He's got to be living at the top of the world right now."    

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The entire Rascals team can smile after the marathon. Relief pitcher Brandon Cunniff picked up the win by retiring just one batter. River City used seven pitchers, all were extremely effective. Starter Gary Moran allowed just three hits and one run over eight innings. Derrick Miramontes, Kirkland Rivers, Richard Barrett, Sean Toler and Zach Robertson all had impressive scoreless stints.    Normal starter Ryan Shelton was also effective with seven solid innings.   

The CornBelters took a 1-0 lead on a double by Chris Brown in the fifth. River City tied it in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Brandon Johnson and Bobby Burk.  McClendon led an eight-hit attack with a triple and two singles.    The nail-biting victory capped off a perfect night in Rascal Nation.   

"It doesn't get better than this," said Carr. Ironically, Carr did not start the game but came on in the 11th after outfielder Stephen Holdren was ejected for arguing. Carr struck out in his first trip to the plate in the 13th.        

RASCALS NOTES -

  • The game lasted so long that the scheduled post-game fireworks display had to be cancelled due to a city ordinance.
  •  Josh Lowey, the MVP of the Rascals' championship run last season, will start on Saturday in a 7:05 p.m. contest. 
  • Zach Sterner is slated for the mound Sunday in a 5:05 contest.
  • River City got off to an 0-4 start last season before winning its home opener 10-8 over Normal
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