Sports

Rascals Three Wins Away From Championship Repeat

Defending champion River City makes its record-setting third straight Frontier League championship appearance beginning Wednesday.

Three more wins and the River City Rascals will be champs once again.

The 2010 Frontier League champions have dominated the 2011 season. River City compiled a league, and franchise best, 68-27 record. Behind a prolific offense and top-line pitching, the Rascals have rolled through the summer.

 against the Southern Illinois Miners in the opening round of the playoffs, the Rascals will take on the Joliet Slammers in the Frontier League Championship.

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At 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at , the West Division champion Rascals will take the field to try and repeat as champions. All that stands in its way is the East Division champs, the Joliet Slammers.

Joliet compiled a 56-40 record to lead the East Division. Joliet made it in the final series with a three-game sweep over the Lake Erie Crushers to claim the East Division crown.

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Team Breakdown

River City Rascals

The River City Rascals had the best offense in the Frontier League in 2011. River City led the league in runs scored (569), home runs (107) and hits (907).

Here's a look at who powered the Rascals' offense this regular season.


Batting Avg.Home RunsRBIRuns Stephen Holdren .332 21 84 75 Jason Patton .343 8 43 33 Joash Brodin .300 14 66 71 Bobby Burk .272 17 58 55

River City's offense was led by League MVP Stephen Holdren. He propelled the Rascals in the regular season and has kept things up in the playoffs. He is 7-for-15 (.467) with 3 homers and eight RBIs in four playoff games.

Pitching, it's often said, wins games. Even though River City had the leagues best offense, the pitching wasn't too shabby either.

River City allowed the second fewest runs and third fewest hits in the league. Rascals' pitchers also led the league in strikeouts (760) and wins (68).

Here's a look at the regular season leaders on the Rascals' staff.


InningsRecord
ERAStrikeouts Josh Lowey
129.1 11-2 2.44 114 Zack Sterner
124.1
10-3 3.04 73 Derrick Miramontes
53 9-2 (17 saves)
2.21 68 Brandon Cunniff
46.2
4-0 1.54 53

Solid pitching has continued in the playoffs. Lowey allowed just one earned run in 13 playoff innings. Sterner also picked up a win with a complete game two run effort.

Joliet Slammers

The Slammers offense, while nearly as potent as the Rascals, still was solid. The Slammers were fourth in the 12-team league in runs with 482 runs scored. Joliet hit 79 homers and 150 doubles.

Here's a look at the regular season leaders.


Batting Avg.Home RunsRBIRuns Hector Pellot
.319 4 29 41
Erik Lis
.302 20 77 51 Josh Flores
.289 12 38 67 Kyle Manus
.259 15 56 62

In the playoffs, Pellot has been red hot. He's 7-for-12 (.583) in the three games of the first round of the playoffs. The Slammers plated 13 runs in three games to sweep the Crushers.

On the mound, Joliet allowed the fourth fewest runs in the league. The Slammers allowed 434 runs (377 earned) all season. Joliet pitchers struck out 648 while walking 362.

Here's a look at the regular season leaders for the Slammers' pitching staff.


InningsRecord
ERAStrikeouts Brian Smith
43.2 1-1 1.24 31 Ryan Quigley
42.2
1-3 (28 saves)
2.32 72 Brian Fowler
52.2 4-3
3.08 30 Jake Renshaw
128
13-4 3.09 90

The playoffs have seen the Slammers' pitching step it up another notch. In three games, Joliet allowed just five runs and compiled a team ERA of 1.33.

Season Matchup

The Slammers were the only team the Rascals struggled with this season. In the first series between the two teams (Aug. 5 to Aug. 7), River City won two of three games. The second series (Aug. 12 to Aug. 14) was a three-game sweep by the Slammers.

Schedule

Here's a look at the best-of-five schedule for the final series of 2011. The Rascals have home-field advantage in the series.

  • Game 1: Wednesday, Sept. 14: Joliet Slammers at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes Ballpark)
  • Game 2: Thursday, Sept. 15: Joliet Slammers at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes Ballpark)
  • Game 3: Saturday, Sept. 17: River City Rascals at Joliet Slammers (6:05 p.m. at Silver Cross)
  • Game 4: Sunday, Sept. 18: River City Rascals at Joliet Slammers (5:05 p.m. at Silver Cross)*
  • Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 20: Joliet Slammers at River City Rascals (7:05 p.m. at T.R. Hughes Ballpark)*

* If necessary


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