River City Rascals Set to Open Frontier League Season May 18

The River City Rascals open their 14th season of play in the professional independent Frontier League on Friday, May 18th against the Rockford RiverHawks.

The defending Frontier League West Division champion River City Rascals will soon begin play in 2012. The River City Rascals open their 14th season of play in the professional independent Frontier League on Friday, May 18th against the Rockford RiverHawks at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon.  Throughout the season the Rascals will have weekly promotions on the schedule: The team has a compiled a thorough list of promotions this season in an effort to be more fan-friendly. Some of the things include: a Mark Buehrle bobblehead giveaway on May 20, theme nights and Super Splash Day. Tickets are on sale now. Visit www.rivercityrascals.com for more information. Box office hours will be Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m Windy City …

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Fans in the Stands: Rascals Reverse Concession Decision to Gear Up For 2012

The baseball team's managers decided to take back control of concession sales after a less than home run results.

On the field, the River City Rascals could not have put together a better 2011 campaign. The O'Fallon-based team won 67 of 95 regular season games and reached the Frontier League championship series for the third year in row.     But off the field, it was the roughest season in the 13-year history of the franchise in terms of attendance.    Baseball by the numbers River City finished the 2011 season last among the twelve teams in its league, averaging 1,564 fans per game. That's a far cry from years past. What accounts for the drop in fans in the stands? Team management believes an increase in concession stand prices played a role. Five years ago the Rascals sold concession rights to Aramark Sports and Entertainment, a company that …

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Holly Edgell

6:51 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012

I would try a hamburger between two donuts, baseball or no baseball... Just saying.   more ›

Heartbreaker: Rascals Lose Game 3 on Walk-Off Homer By Slammers

Joliet takes a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five Frontier League Championship series.

Brandon Peters hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Joliet Slammers to a 4-3 win against River City in Game 3 of the Frontier League championship series Saturday night at Silver Cross Field.      Joliet leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can nail down the championship on Sunday.      Peters unloaded on the first pitch from River City reliever Derrick Miramontes.      "It was definitely the biggest home run of my career," Peters told reporters after the game.     River City scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to take a 3-2 lead heading into the eighth. But Erik Lis tied the game with a run-scoring single in the eighth to set the stage for Peters' heroics.      The Rascals managed just three hits. …

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Rascals Take Game 1 of Champions Series

River City knocks off Joliet Slammers to take a 1-0 series lead in best-of-five Frontier League championships.

O'FALLON — It took the River City offense just 19 minutes and 35 pitches to make mincemeat out of one of the top pitchers in the Frontier League Thursday night. The Rascals scored six runs in the first inning to roll to an 8-5 victory over the Joliet Slammers in Game One of the league championship series in front of 1,204 fans at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. The defending champs take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series with Game 2 set for Friday in O'Fallon at 7:05 p.m. River City steamrolled Joliet righthander, "Captain" Jake Renshaw, who led the league with 13 wins during the regular season. The Rascals sent Renshaw packing after just one inning, his shortest outing of the season. Renshaw gave up a season-high six earned runs. He had allowed …

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Rascals' Championship Series Pushed Back One Day

Rain forced the move.

The River City Rascals Wednesday night game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark has been canceled due to the rainy weather. The Frontier League championship games against Joliet, IL. will now be played Thursday and Friday nights. Read our previous story: Rascals Three Wins Away From Championship Repeat According to the Rascals' web site: "Tonight's game has been postponed due to weather making field conditions unplayable. The games will be played on Thursday, Sept. 15 and Friday, Sept. 16. Both games will start at 7:05 pm. Tickets are available for the games at www.rivercityrascals.com or by calling 636-240-2287. Tickets for Wednesday's game can be used for either Thursday or Friday's games. The series will then continue in Joliet with games scheduled…

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Rascals Head to Frontier League Championships

The Rascals now face Joliet in the best-of-five Frontier League Championship series beginning on Wednesday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark

MARION, IL. — River City outfielder Stephen Holdren is in another world. Holdren drilled a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth inning on Sunday night to lead the Rascals to the Western Division championship. Thanks in part to Holdren's blast, River City knocked off Southern Illinois 4-1 in Game 4 to win the best-of-five series three-games-to-one. The defending Frontier League champs advance to the championship series for the third year in a row—becoming the first team in league history to make three straight trips to the final series. The Rascals face Joliet in the best-of-five championship series beginning with Games 1 and 2 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark on Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. Holdren dominated the West final with three home runs …

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Rascals Defeat Miners 5-2 in Game Three

River City now leads the best-of-five series 2-1 heading into Game 4 Saturday.

MARION, IL. - River City outfielder Stephen Holdren showed why he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Frontier League on Saturday night.      Holdren drove in four runs and went 3-for-3 to lead the Rascals to a 5-2 win over Southern Illinois in Game 3 of the Western Division Championship series at Rent One Park.      River City now leads the best-of-five series 2-1 heading into Game 4 Sunday.      Holdren drilled a two-run double in the third to stake the Rascals to a 2-0 lead. He added a two-run homer in the sixth that pumped the advantage to 4-0.       Southern scored twice in the sixth to get to within 4-2, but the River City bullpen held the lead.     Logan Parker also went 3-for-3 for the Rascals.     Starting pitcher …

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Rascals Report: Regular Season Nears Completion for River City

Only one game remains before Frontier League playoffs start on Wednesday.

The Frontier League regular season ends today, Sunday, Sept. 4, but the Rascals season is far from over. River City, the 2010 Frontier League champs, returns to the playoffs for a shot at defending the title. The 2011 version of the Rascals has easily been the best team in the League. River City (67-27) will be the only team to reach 60 wins and the only team to not reach the 30 loss mark. The Rascals have a 9.5 game lead over the Southern Illinois Miners in the West Division and a 22.5 game lead over the third place Normal CornBelters.  Once again the Rascals put up a winning week. River City went 4-2 in the last six games, clinching a playoff spot in the process.  The Rascals will take on the Gateway Grizzlies today before beginning the …

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Rascals Fans, Ozzie Smith Help Out Former Cardinal

The Southern Illinois Miners defeated the River City Rascals 5-3 on Thursday, but their fundraiser during the game will help out ex-Cardinal Lonnie Maclin.

The River City Rascals teamed up with Ozzie Smith at Thursday's game to help out a former St. Louis Cardinal player in need.  Clayton native Lonnie Maclin, who played in 12 games for the Cardinals in 1993, suffered a stroke in January. The Rascals changed their name to "The Wizards" for last night's game and asked fans to come together to help raise money for the longtime baseball coach who has no medical insurance.  Ozzie Smith, a longtime friend of Maclin, gave the Rascals permission to hand out bobbleheads to the first 1,000 fans on Thursday. He also threw out the first pitch of the game and signed jerseys that were sold to benefit Maclin.  The Rascals took on the Southern Illinois Miners and were defeated 5-3. Several Rascals received …

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