Like every other team, Rex would like larger crowds, less heat and rain | Sports

The second half of the Prospect League wooden-bat baseball season began Tuesday, with the Chillicothe Paints, Danville Dans, Quincy Gems and Alton River Dragons having captured first-half division championships and secured league playoff berths for mid-August.

The Terre Haute-based Rex team finished 19-11 in the first half, a mere two games behind the Dans in the Wabash River Division. The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp ended up 20-11, one-half game ahead of the Rex in second place.

So the Rex will need to either win the second-half division title or, if Danville wins again, finish with the second-best record in the division during the second half.

To accomplish that, Rex first-year manager Matt Chavarria and general manager Bruce Rosselli would like to see and hear crowds as large as possible to spur on the off-season collegiate players for home games at Bob Warn…