[rink23]

Record: 60-45, 2nd/(Tied/w. Springfield), 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Steve Ricca led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a home run, snapping a 5-5 tie and helping lift Cedar Rapids to a 6-5 win over St. Louis at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Ricca's homer, his first of the season, came on a 1-1 pitch from St. Louis reliever Brennan Weldon and traveled 388 feet over the left-field wall.
The victory lifted the Grapplers past St. Louis and Springfield and into first place in the National League South Division. Cedar Rapids owns a half-game lead over both those teams.
The Grapplers sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning as they collected five runs off d River Walkers rookie starter Kevin Hrdlicka.
Hrdlicka inflicted much of the damage himself with four walks, including four in a row and two of which came with the bases loaded.
Eric Gerhardt drove in the inning's first run with a single.
Jake McCarthy plated the final two with a two-out single.
But the Walkers rallied to tie it.
Bob Saavedra connected for a RBI double off Grapplers starting pitcher Joel Glenn in the top of the second.
Jackson Miller hit a two-run home run off Glenn in the third.
Yan C. Dixon led off the fifth with a single off Glenn and scored on a Miller sacrifice fly.
The Walkers tied it in the seventh.
Nathaniel Dixon led off with a single off reliever Anton Melendez.
A Saavedra single moved Dixon to third.
He scored on a Rich Dodson ground out.
Glenn worked five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits.
Melendez pitched the one inning, the sixth when St. Louis tied it.
Britten (2-0) worked two scoreless innings and earned the win.
Keith Kirby handled the ninth and earned his 31st save.