O’Fallon, MO—River City hit for the cycle as a team in the fifth and got a stellar pitching performance to down the Chillicothe Paints 11-1 Wednesday night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

Chris Clem (6-5) entered the game with an even record before collecting his sixth win of the season. Clem defeated the Paints for the second straight time lasting 8.1 innings without walking a batter.

“A win at this point is a win,” said Clem, “I’ve had a little more concentration coming into the second half of the season and that’s really helped in my starts.”

Chillicothe starting pitcher Ryan Flanigan (1-7) walked the first two Rascals he faced in the bottom of the second inning. Phil Laurent stepped up to the plate and hit a ground ball to the second baseman that was bobbled and thrown past first base resulting in the first run of the ballgame. River City added two more runs in the inning, including an RBI by Greg Stone, to give them a 3-0 lead.

The Rascals had their big inning in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to some explosive bats. Stone started the inning with an infield single, quickly followed by a Luke Barganier RBI triple to center field. In the next at bat, Brad Hough unloaded his eighth home run of the season to notch two more runs in the Rascals favor. With no outs, Jeff Miller hit a double to right field to complete the first four batters cycle. Later in the inning, Laurent and Will Basom added two more RBI’s for the Rascals to power them to an 8-0 lead.

The River City offense did not let up going into the sixth when they added three more runs against Chillicothe. Ryan Wehrle hit a two-out RBI double to center field to pick up one, and Dan Maycock cleaned up the bases with a two-run shot over the right field ‘Big-Dog’ wall. The Rascals left the inning with an 11-0 lead.

Clem finally gave up a run in the ninth. Drew George hit an RBI double down the left field line and later scored on a Jeff Vincent double. Clem gave way to teammate and right fielder Maycock to finish the game. For Maycock, it was his second pitching appearance of the season and he retired the final two.

“I just came in after being released twice this season and I am excited to stay around the same place and help my team win,” said Maycock. “We’re having a lot of fun out there and I’m really happy to be here.”

Flanigan (1-7)took the loss for Chillicothe giving up eight runs through five innings.

River City (34-37) and Chillicothe (31-39) decide the series on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Every Thursday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark is a ‘Budweiser Thirsty Thursday’ which means dollar beers in Rascal Island up until the seventh inning. Gates open at 5:05 p.m. Thursday for the Second Annual Home Town Heroes Charity Softball Game. Local firemen and police officers play to win the battle of the ‘guns and hoses.’ Tickets are available by calling (636) 240-BATS or www.rivercityrascals.com.