Otters Fall to Rascals – Houck Talks with Ford and O’Bryan [AUDIO]

The Rascals came out swinging in game two of a three game series against the Otters Thursday night in O'Fallon, Missouri.

After the Otters smoked the Rascals 13-1 in the series opener Wednesday night, River City returned the favor by putting 11 runs on the board in route to an 11-3 win. Their first win over the Otters in 10 games, dating all the way back to August 30th, 2012.

The game got off on the wrong foot for the Otters as starting pitcher, Conor Kerins, making his first start of the season, allowed three runs in the bottom of the first.

By the fourth inning, the Otters found themselves down by five before a home run by catcher Kolin Conner, and a RBI single from All-Star first baseman, Nik Balog cut the lead to three. However, it wasn't enough to ignite the rest of the bats as River City continued their groove and put six additional runs over the remaining four innings.

Fortunately for the Otters, the Washington Wild Things also found themselves on the losing end of a game against Rockford, leaving the two teams tied for first in the East Division.

Thursday's lost gives the Otters a 9-5 record since the All-Star break. They'll look to get things back on track tonight in the final game of the series against River City before a trip to Lake Erie for Saturday through Monday series against the Crushers who currently sit at five games out of first in the East Division.

Despite the Thursday's loss, the Otters have been playing good baseball since the All-Star break, setting a season-high in home runs in a single game (4) last Wednesday against the Grizzlies, then tying that record three days later at home against Washington, only to tie it again during Wednesday's series opener at River City.

One of the reasons behind the team's success thus far is third baseman, Shayne Houck who currently leads the team and the Frontier League in home runs with 16. He also is the team leader in RBI's with 40, and second behind fellow All-Star, first baseman, Nik Balog, with 69.

Houck was kind enough to take a few minutes before Thursday night's game to talk with Jimmie and I about how well the team is playing, and his role in their success.