Defensive Wizard Serna Delivers in Ninth

As a late-inning defensive specialist, River City Rascals infielder Matt Serna makes a pretty good clutch hitter.   

Serna blooped a two-out, two-strike single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday to lead the Rascals to a dramatic 6-5 win over Evansville in front of 2,625 fans at .   

River City improves to a league-best 60-23 with its fourth win in succession.   

The defending Frontier League champs lowered their magic number to clinch the Western Division title to four with the victory.   

Serna, who entered the game in the top of the ninth to play third base, was making only his 19th appearance of the season. He had just five hits all year prior to the memorable single.    

"I saw it was a fastball," said Serna, a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago. "I just wanted to get any piece of the bat on the ball."    

Jareck West set up the rally by stealing third base after his leadoff hit. Evansville reliever Eric Massingham struck out Bobby Burk for the second out of the inning and fell behind Serna 3-0 before rallying for a full count.    

River City manager Steve Brook was confident Serna would get the job done. "He's a good contact guy," Brook said.   

Serna got just enough of the 3-2 offering to dump the ball into short right field. The hit was biggest of the season for the popular Serna, a rookie who finally got a chance at the spotlight.   

"It was great for him," said River City outfielder/third baseman Chad Maddox. "And great for the team."   

The win helps the Rascals continue their dominance over Evansville. They have won 29 of their last 31 games against Evansville since June 19, 2009. They are 11-1 versus the Otters each of the last two seasons.    

Maddox provided most of the offensive firepower Sunday with two hits and three RBI. His two-run homer to left field in the third inning traveled an estimated 405 feet.   

"When I first hit it, I knew it was gone," said Maddox. "It felt good. It was a changeup up and I got the barrel on it."    

The round-tripper was the 12th of the season for Maddox and pushed the lead to 5-1. It was the longest home run by a River City player to left field this season.   

Evansville battled back on home runs by Steve Caseres and Phillip Britton in the fourth to climb to within 5-3.   

The Otters then capitalized on a two-out throwing error by Burk in the ninth to tie the game 5-5.   

Undaunted, the Rascals battled right back in the bottom of the frame.   

"Since I've been here this team has shown that it won't go down easy," said Serna. " I was just glad I could help win a ballgame."    

River City, which outscored Evansville 33-11 in sweeping the series, scored three times in the first. Eric Williams led off with a double. Doug Sanders and Joash Brodin followed with singles to tie the game 1-1. Sanders then stole home on the back half of a double steal with Brodin swiping second. Maddox followed with a run-scoring hit to right.    

Rascals ace Jason Lowey (9-2) turned in a solid performance giving up three earned runs on seven hits in six innings.    

"He pitched well - he certainly deserved to win," said Brook.     Closer Derrick Miramontes improved to 8-0. He allowed two hits but both ninth-inning runs were unearned.   

"This was huge, we want to get as many wins as we can," said Maddox. "Coming into the playoffs, we want to be rolling."       

NOTES FROM THE DAWG POUND:     

• River City leadoff hitter Eric Williams has drawn 37 walks in 38 games.    
• The three-game series with Evansville drew 7,549 - a season high at T.R. Hughes.   
• The Rascals have made a league-low 69 errors.    
• River City is 55-18 since June 1.    
• The Rascals have 12 games left, only three at home. They will likely host Southern Illinois in Game 1 and 2 of the best-of-five Western Division championship series Sept. 7-8. Tickets are on sale at the T.R. Hughes box office.    
• River City broadcaster Jason Troop, in his second season with the team, was the play-by-play voice of the Otters in 2007 and 2008. 
• The Rascals begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday at Normal.
• Stephen Holdren, a Triple Crown threat, went 0-for-4 ending a hitting streak of 19 consecutive games at home. He had reached base safely in his last 30 home games.