MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Pham strikes 11th homer but Reckling fans 10

Published on June 22, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Trevor Reckling struck out a season-high 10 batters for the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Saturday night, overcoming Tommy Pham's 11th homer of the year to defeat the Quad Cities River Bandits, 4-2, on Dale and Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Quad Cities (1-2, 34-33) ended Reckling's scoreless innings streak at 29.1 with a run in the second, but the left-handed starter went on to throw seven strong innings for the win. Cedar Rapids (2-1, 34-37) withstood Pham's game-tying homer in the sixth, plating two runs in the seventh to capture the win.

The River Bandits won the race to the scoreboard in the top of the second thanks to a pair of newcomers. Catcher Roberto Espinoza, a 19-year-old from Venezuela, and infielder Ross Oeder, a 28th-round pick in 2007 out of Wright State, made their Quad Cities debuts batting eighth and ninth in the order, respectively. After Espinoza drew a one-out walk, Oeder drilled a double into left-center that bounced to the wall, scoring Espinoza from first for a 1-0 lead.

The Kernels quickly turned the tables with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Gordie Gronkowski led off the third with a double and scored on a two-out base hit by Ryan Groth. One inning later, it was Gronkowski delivering a single to left that plated Jay Brossman to put Cedar Rapids on top, 2-1.

Pham tied the score with one swing of the bat in the sixth, clubbing his team-high 11th homer of the year. The powerful 20-year-old from Las Vegas took an 0-1 pitch and drove it the other way, clearing the fence in right field to make it a 2-2 ballgame.

In the bottom of the sixth, the right arm of D'Marcus Ingram kept the score tied. With a man at second and nobody out Ingram struggled to track down a double to right field by Brossman, but made up for it by firing to the cutoff man Pete Kozma, who in turn threw out the baserunner at the plate. One batter later, Ingram raced towards the foul line to catch a pop-up for the second out of the inning. The athletic 20-year-old promptly fired a one-hop strike to the plate to cut down Brossman as he tried to tag up from third.

But one inning later, Cedar Rapids took the lead against reliever Brandon Garner, the newest member of the River Bandits roster. Garner, who joined Quad Cities on Friday night, put Anel De Los Santos on base with a one-out walk in the seventh. De Los Santos then advanced to second on a balk and third on a wild pitch, forcing the defense to come in. Jerry Gonzalez took advantage with a high chopper that bounced over the shortstop's head, bringing home De Los Santos and breaking the tie. Later in the frame, Groth added another run-scoring single to give the Kernels the decisive 4-2 lead.

Reckling (5-2) earned the win, striking out 10 while holding Quad Cities to two runs on five hits over seven innings of work. Eddie McKiernan (5) added a perfect ninth inning for the second night in a row, fanning a pair to earn the save.

Garner (0-1) suffered the loss for Quad Cities, allowing two runs on two hits in .2 innings of relief. Starter Josh Wilson turned in a quality start, leaving in a 2-2 game after firing off six solid innings.

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Midwest League Stories from June 22, 2008


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