MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Thomas, Bandits knock off LumberKings

Published on May 2, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits got a flawless performance by Kevin Thomas and a 10-run offensive outburst on Saturday night on their way to a 10-4 win over the Clinton LumberKings at Alliant Energy Field.

Quad Cities (13-8) led by as many as nine runs in the middle innings, thanks in large part to Thomas' stellar performance on the mound. Clinton (12-9) failed to reach base against the right-hander, losing the opener of a three game set.

Thomas, who twirled the last two innings of the first Quad Cities no-hitter since 2001 on April 15, retired all 15 batters he faced on Saturday night. He allowed only three balls to leave the infield and recorded eight outs on the ground while fanning two. The 22-year-old Texan needed just 56 pitches to cruise through his start before leaving after the five frames allotted to the first pitcher in the River Bandits' tandem starting rotation.

While Thomas dominated on the mound, the River Bandits scored single runs in three consecutive frames to take the lead.

Chris Swauger was hit by a pitch to open the second inning and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Castellanos. After Paul Cruz lined a two-out single in the third inning, Osvaldo Morales drove in his league-leading 22nd run of the year with a double that one-hopped the wall in left. One inning later, Jon Edwards blasted his second home run of the season to lead off the fourth as Quad Cities took a 3-0 lead.

The River Bandits doubled that advantage in the fifth. Niko Vasquez smacked a two-base hit off the wall in center to start the rally, while a walk and a hit batsman loaded the bases. A pitching change brought Blake Nation into the ballgame with the bags packed and nobody out, and the reliever promptly hit Swauger with a pitch to force in a run. Roberto Espinoza and Edwards each followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies, giving Quad Cities a comfortable 6-0 lead.

After a solo homer by Kalian Sams in the bottom of the sixth broke up the no-hitter and the shutout, the River Bandits went back to work in the top of the seventh. With one on and one out Espinoza hit a grounder to shortstop, but the throw to second sailed wide and rolled to the bullpen as Swauger scored all the way from first. With two outs a pair of hit batsman loaded the bases once again, while a wild pitch allowed Espinoza to race home. On the very next pitch, Brett Lilley flared a two-run single to left that capped a four-run rally and pushed Quad Cities' lead to 10-1.

Clinton crossed the plate three more times in the seventh and eighth, but Cardenas (1) was still able to toss the final four innings and earn his first save of the year. The southpaw was touched for four runs - three earned - on six hits while fanning two and walking two.

Walter Suriel (0-2) suffered the loss for Clinton, as the Bandits knocked him around to the tune of six runs on five hits over four frames.

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 2, 2009


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