MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Buckman Homers Again In Losing Effort

Published on May 10, 2007 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Brandon Buckman finished just a single shy of the cycle and drove in three runs to lead a late Swing of Quad Cities comeback, but the Lansing Lugnuts held on for a 7-5 victory on Thursday night at Oldsmobile Park. Buckman homered in the sixth and tripled in two runs in the eighth, extending his league leading totals to nine home runs, 35 RBI, 44 hits, and 21 extra-base hits.

Quad Cities (19-15) trailed 6-0 before storming back to tighten up the contest, but with the potential game-tying run aboard in the ninth pinch-hitter Chris Grossman bounced into a double play to end the game. Lansing (16-14) had lost seven of their last eight games entering play.

The Swing started their comeback with a couple of solo home runs. Christian Reyes led off the fifth inning by turning on the first pitch he saw and slugging a towering solo home run down the left field line. One inning later Buckman golfed a full-count pitch out of the yard to right, pulling the Swing to within a 6-2 score.

It was 7-2 when Buckman went back to work in the eighth. With two men on and one away in the inning, the slugging first baseman launched a ball deep to Oldsmobile Park's spacious alley in right-center. The ball one-hopped the wall just beneath the 412-foot marker for a two-run triple, and when Buckman later came home on a groundout the Swing made it a 7-5 contest.

Unfortunately, that was as close as the Swing would get.

Lansing's Graham Godfrey (1-0) earned the win in his professional debut, tossing six innings while allowing two runs on six hits. The righty struck out three without issuing a walk, carrying a shutout into the fifth before allowing a pair of solo home runs. Seth Overbay (6) finished the job with a five-out save.

After losing the first two games of the series, the Lugnuts exploded for five runs in the bottom of the second inning on Thursday. With the bases loaded and one away Jonathan Jaspe looped a single to center that scored one run and advanced everybody one station. There were two outs when Jonathan Diaz singled in a pair with a base hit to right and took second on the throw home. Travis Snider capped the rally with another two-run single, ripping a liner to right for the 5-0 lead.

Shaun Garceau (2-1) took the loss, allowing six runs on six hits in three innings. The 19-year-old right-hander fanned four while walking two, giving up four two-out runs during the Lugnuts' five-run rally in the second.

Tandem starter Eddie Degerman twirled the final four innings for Quad Cities, striking out a Swing season-high eight batters. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk.

TICKETS: Tickets for all events at John O'Donnell Stadium can be purchased by calling the Swing of the Quad Cities ticket office at (563) 328-2000, coming to the box office located at the stadium along South Gaines Street, or by logging on to www.swingbaseball.com.

UP NEXT: The Swing are on the road through May 14 for a 10-game trip that includes stops in Cedar Rapids, Lansing, and Burlington. They will return to John O'Donnell Stadium for a 10-game homestand from May 14-24, beginning an extended home stretch in which 14 of their next 18 games will be played in Davenport. All Swing games feature a radio broadcast that can be heard on The Truth AM-1270 or online at www.swingbaseball.com, with the pre-game show starting 15 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch.

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Midwest League Stories from May 10, 2007


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