MARION, Ill. - River City (17-10) snapped the Miners (20-7) eight-game winning streak with a 10-4 final score Saturday at Rent One Park. Brendon Malkowski had an uncharacteristic rough outing, surrendering five runs, four of them earned, in just four innings as he took his first loss of the year and fell to 4-1 on the season. Josh Lowey picked up the win for River City, scattering 10 hits and allowing three runs in six innings of work to improve to 2-2 on the year.
River City opened up a 3-0 lead in the third inning with Jareck West’s first home run of the season. The Rascals added two more against Malkowski in the fourth when he surrendered back-to-back singles to start the inning. Doug Sanders drove home a run, and Chad Maddox followed with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game.
Southern Illinois clawed back into the game in the fifth inning when Jereme Milons hit an RBI double to cut it to 5-1. He had three hits on the night. Two batters later, Matt Fields hit a two-run double to cut it to 5-3. Fields leads the team with 20 RBIs.
River City responded with Chad Maddox’s solo home run in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-1 and then put away the Miners in the eighth when Stephen Holdren hit a grand slam over the center field wall to make it a 10-3 game. Holdren, who played for Southern Illinois in 2009, had three home runs and eight RBIs in the three-game series.
Southern Illinois managed a run in the ninth when Trey Manz hit a bases loaded fly ball to the warning track to bring home a run on the sacrifice fly.
It was the first regular season win for River City at Rent One Park since Sept. 5, 2009. With the loss, Southern Illinois’ first place lead shrank to three games.
On Sunday the Miners will open up a three-game road trip with the Florence Freedom. David Harden (2-0, 2.31) will be on the mound for the Miners against Tim Holmes (2-1, 1.32) for the Freedom.
