The Joliet Slammers (13-12) and the River City Rascals (15-10) exchanged the lead five times on Thursday, but the Joliet Slammers ended up on top with a 6-5 win over the River City Rascals.

The Joliet Slammers pulled out the win thanks to a strong second inning. A groundout by Ben Hewett scored Kyle Maunus and gave the Joliet Slammers the lead for good.

The Joliet Slammers staved off the River City Rascals as the River City Rascals were unable to match the Joliet Slammers down the stretch.

The River City Rascals scored three runs in the eighth on a two-run double by Josh Workman and an RBI single by Charlie Lisk. Still, the River City Rascals couldn't catch the Joliet Slammers.

Hector Pellot did his best to jumpstart the offense for the Joliet Slammers, reaching base four times. He singled in the first and third innings.

The Joliet Slammers relied on Tommy Mendoza to eat up innings en route to the win. Mendoza pitched seven innings and allowed two earned runs, four hits and one walk while striking out four.

Kelii Zablan (2-2) was the game's losing pitcher. He lasted just five innings, walked two, struck out three, and allowed three runs.