SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — It was a tough day on the diamond for the Schaumburg Boomers, who suffered a loss in the opener of a three-game series with the River City Rascals by the final of 12-3, but it's never a bad day when there's fireworks!

Following a quiet first three innings, River City, leaders of the West, jumped ahead with a five-run fourth. The Rascals collected three straight hits to open the inning. Schaumburg came back with a run in the bottom of the frame but River City batted around again in the fifth, scoring three runs to chase starting pitcher Robbie Penny from the game.

Eric Holmes pitched the remainder of the game, tossing the final 4.1 innings, striking out a pair. Sacrifice flies from Brandon Hairston in the seventh and Sean Mahley in the eighth accounted for the other Schaumburg runs. Frank Pfister collected two hits in the defeat.

LHP Jose Rodriguez (1-1, 6.14) will take the ball in game two of the series at Boomers Stadium on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. RHP Keli’i Zablan (2-0, 1.88) counters for River City. The first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive a fleece blanket courtesy of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Saturday night will also be Cancer Survivor’s Night presented by Northwest Community Healthcare.

PECKS

• Ty Nelson entered the game defensively behind the plate in the eighth inning and struck out in the ninth
• Karexon Sanchez continued his strong start for the Boomers, walking, singling, scoring a run, and driving home a run

Season Tickets, Group Outings and single-game tickets for the Inaugural Season of Schaumburg Boomers Baseball are on sale now by calling the 847.461.3695, by visiting www.boomersbaseball.com or by stopping by Schaumburg Boomers Stadium located at 1999 S. Springinsguth Road in Schaumburg.