By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters exploded Wednesday night with 15 hits, three of which were home runs, in an 8-4 win over the River City Rascals.
River City drew first blood in the second inning when Rascals third baseman Taylor Ard hit a deep solo shot to left field making the score 1-0.
The CornBelters struck back in the third inning. After Ozzie Guillen was hit by a pitch, Cameron Monger took to the plate and hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Belters the lead 2-1.
Sam Judah added to the Belters lead in the fourth inning when he drove in Aaron Dudley on a single to right field, making the score 3-1.
After four innings of work Belters starter Stephen Frey was relieved by Horatio Acosta. Frey had two hits, one home run and one walk while recording six strikeouts.
The Belters continued to pile on to the Rascals in the fifth inning when Dudley hit a two-out RBI double to bring in Pat McKenna, bringing the score to 4-1.
The Rascals stayed in the game, however, when they brought two runners home in a bases loaded situation when Ard hit a two-out single to shallow center field, making the score 4-3.
Rascals starter Joe Scanio’s night ended after five innings. Scanio had seven hits, one home run and two strikeouts.
The Belters further separated themselves from the Rascals in the seventh inning when Dudley hit his second home run of the year, a three-run blast to center field, making the score 7-3.
Rascals catcher Josh Ludy brought River City to within 7-4 in the eighth inning with a solo shot to left field.
The Belters padded their lead in the eighth inning when Monger led off and hit a home run on the first pitch he saw for the game’s final run.
Cole Brocker (1-0) earned the win in relief while Scanio (5-4) took the loss.
With the win, the CornBelters remain in second place in the Frontier League West Division, a game and a half behind the Rockford Aviators. The CornBelters (24-17) will close out their series with the Rascals (22-18) on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. Mike Schweiss (2-5, 3.60 ERA) starts on the mound for the Belters while the Rascals counter with Clint Wright (0-1, 3.29) in a match-up of righthanders. Broadcast time on WJBC.com is 6:20.
