MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits Hold On for Win

Published on June 26, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Osvaldo Morales clubbed his second homer in three games on Friday, sparking the Quad Cities River Bandits to a 4-2 win over the Kane County Cougars at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities (1-1, 31-41) evened the four-game set at one win apiece after dropping the opening game of the second half on Thursday night, while Kane County (1-1, 42-30) nearly silenced a raucous crowd of 4,546 with a ninth inning rally that narrowly fell short.

The River Bandits started the scoring in the bottom of the second thanks to a long solo homer by Morales, his team-high eighth of the year. Charlie Cutler added a run-scoring single in the third to push the lead to 2-0, while his leadoff double in the sixth started a two-run rally that doubled the advantage to 4-0.

Kevin Thomas (3-3) controlled the tempo on the mound, twirling 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball while limiting the Cougars to just three hits. The sinkerballer struck out three and walked two, lowering his ERA to 3.54 and earning the win with the stifling performance.

The Quad Cities lead was 4-1 in the ninth when Kane County made things interesting. Closer Dave Carpenter retired the first two men he faced without incident, but put the next four men on base with three walks and a hit batsman as the advantage shrunk to 4-2.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Matt Frevert was called in from the bullpen to face leadoff hitter David Thomas with the game on the line. On a 2-1 pitch, Thomas blasted a long fly ball to deep right field that soared to the warning track before falling into the glove of Jon Edwards for the final out of the game.

While Frevert earned his first save of the year for the River Bandits, Anthony Capra (2-5) was dealt the loss for the Cougars after yielding four runs on six hits over six innings.

The Quad Cities win also featured the professional debut of Jason Stidham, an eighth-round pick out of Florida State who became the first 2009 Cardinals' draftee to reach the Midwest League. The 21-year-old infielder went 2-for-4, doubling during his first pro at-bat in the second inning before picking up an RBI with a single in the sixth.

UP NEXT: Saturday will be Autism Night at Modern Woodmen Park, as fans will receive Hillary Clinton bobblehead dolls pre-game, have the opportunity to purchase special-edition game-worn jerseys during an in-game jersey auction, and enjoy a live concert by vodkaseven post-game on a Rockin' Saturday. Sunday features a Pepsi Youth Jersey giveaway on another Tailz ‘Er Waggin' Dog Day of Summer, also a U.S. Bank Family Sunday. After an off day on Monday, the Bandits welcome the Burlington Bees to town on an Economic Stimulus Tuesday in which all tickets are 2-for-1 and kids 12 and under eat for free! July rolls in with a Rhythm City Casino Guaranteed Prize WINS-day and Faith Night on Wednesday. The Quad Cities' first Independence Day party will take place on July 2at Modern Woodmen Park on a Thirst-day Thursday which will include $2 draft beer and fountain Pepsi products before an extravagant post-game fireworks show. The homestand concludes on July 3 as the City of Davenport's Red, White and Boom fireworks show kicks off at Modern Woodmen Park after the game for another huge Fourth of July party!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from June 26, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central