CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Dante Zamudio and Cam Careswell both hit homers and the Cape Catfish scored four times in the seventh and five more in the eighth to take an eight-inning, ten-run rule win over the Alton River Dragons 12-2 in a Prospect League game played at Capaha Filed in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The River Dragons have dropped two straight road games to open the second half of the league's split season and have now lost three in a row, going back to the final game of the first half on the Fourth of July when Cape defeated Alton at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park. The Dragons had already clinched the first half title in the Prairie Land Division.

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Alton took an early lead in the first on an Eddie King RBI single to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead, but in the third, Zamudio hit a solo homer to left to tie the game 1-1, then went ahead on a Kolten Poorman RBI single to give the Catfish a 2-1 lead. Ty Stauss' RBI single to left extended the Cape lead to 3-1, but a seventh-inning ground out by Chris Andrews drove in Ben Gallaher to cut the lead to 3-2. The Catfish broke open the game in the bottom of the seventh on a grand slam homer by Careswell to put the Catfish up 7-2, then in the eighth, a pair of two-run singles by Zamudio and J.D. Ortiz and a RBI triple by Stauss gave the Catfish the 10-run rule win over the River Dragons 12-2.

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King led the way for Alton with two hits and a RBI, while Kurtis Reid, Mike Hampton from Alton High, Marcus Heusohn and Gage Mestas also had hits and Andrews drove home the only other run for the River Dragons.

Adam Stilts, also from Alton High, started on the mound and went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, two earned, while walking two and striking out five. Alec Nigut fanned one while on the hill and both Kalen Reardon and Mestas also pitched.

The River Dragons are now 0-2 to start the second half, 18-15 overall, and play once again at Cape on Thursday night in a 6:35 p.m. start, then play a home-and-home series against the O'Fallon, Mo., Hoots on Friday and Saturday, the opener at Lloyd Hopkins Field Friday at 6:35 p.m, then the return game at CarShield Field in O'Fallon Saturday night, also at 6:35 p.m. Alton stays on the road to play the Normal Cornbelters Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., then plays another two-game set at Cape July 12-13, both games starting at 6:35 p.m.

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