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BY JIM WIENERS

The Sauget, Ill., based Gateway Grizzlies and the O’Fallon, Mo., based River City Rascals have not played each other in Frontier League Baseball since June 27 but will play each other six times in the last eight games of the 2007season.

The Rascals will host the Grizzlies Aug 26-27 and Aug. 30-31 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. The Grizzlies will host the Rascals in the season-closing series Sept. 1-2 at G.C.S. Ballpark. Game times are 6:05 on Aug 26 and Sept. 2 and at 7:05 for all other nights of the series.

Between games at T. R. Hughes, Aug. 28-29, the Rascals play two in Marion, Ill., against Southern Illinois while the Grizzlies host Evansville, Ind. The Grizzlies lead the Rascals 6-4 this season after winning the first five games while the Rascals won four of the last five they met.

But before the Cross Town Clash resumes a pair of teams from Western Pennsylvania are visiting St. Louis, which began Tuesday. The Grizzlies are wrapping up a three-game home series Thursday, 7:05, against Slippery Rock, one of two expansion teams in the Frontier League (Southern Illinois is the other), then host Washington Friday-Saturday at 7:05 and Sunday at 3:05. The Rascals close out a three-game home series with Washington Thursday, 7:05 then host Slippery Rock Friday-Saturday, 7:05, Sunday, 1:05, and three more 7:05 games, Aug. 23-25.

The Grizzlies, coming off a 4-4 road trip to Southern Illinois and Evansville, Ind., begins another eight-game road trip, including six in Pennsylvania, Monday, Aug. 20. The Grizzlies make their first ever trip to Slippery Rock for games Aug. 20-22 (and it maybe their only trip there ever since there have been unconfirmed rumors of them moving to another city in 2008) then cross Pittsburgh to play Washington, Aug 23-25. The Grizzlies close out their road trip with a pair of games at T. R. Hughes.

The Rascals will be making a long trip on Interstate 70 through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia to get to Washington, Pa., for just three games, Aug. 20-22. The Rascals go the other way on I-70 back to O’Fallon for their second visit from Slippery Rock and then await the visit of the road-weary Grizzlies.

Gateway has a commanding lead in the Frontier League West Division and is likely on their way to their second division title in seven years. Prior to Aug. 14 the Grizzlies have a 51-24 record and started the series with Slippery Rock 12.5 games ahead of Southern Illinois. River City, meanwhile, is all but out of the playoff race, carrying a 30-46 record, 21.5 games behind Gateway prior to playing Washington on Aug. 14.

“We got a young group of kids,” said Rascal Pitching Coach Randy Woodard last Saturday after a 12-9 home loss to Southern Illinois. The Rascals, with 12 one-run losses so far, wished their record was better.
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