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Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits Sweep in South Bend

July 30, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits got seven stifling innings from starter Jorge Rondon on Thursday night, but after the pitchers' duel was turned over to the bullpens it was an eighth-inning homer that led the South Bend Silver Hawks to a 2-1 win at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium.

Quad Cities (14-18, 44-58) entered the current six-game road trip with a four-game winning streak, only to lose three straight to the Silver Hawks in the trip's first leg. South Bend (17-15, 44-56) won a pair of games on Wednesday after Tuesday's opener was suspended due to rain, and on Thursday it was a late solo homer by Isaias Asencio that proved to be the difference.

Jorge Rondon turned in a stellar performance on the mound for the River Bandits, firing off seven strong innings while allowing just one run on four hits. He struck out only one but did not issue a walk and did not allow a baserunner past the third inning, as three of the four hits he gave up came in succession to start the second inning. The 21-year-old Venezuelan used just 79 pitches to work through his seven frames and retired the final 13 batters he faced in order.

But after Rondon was removed from the game with the score even at 1-1, the Silver Hawks immediately grabbed the lead. Reliever Matt Frevert got ahead of Asencio with two quick strikes to lead off the bottom of the eighth, only to watch the Diamondbacks' prospect blast an 0-2 breaking ball onto the berm in left field for a tie-breaking homer and a 2-1 lead.

Moments later, Justin Mace (7) worked the ninth inning to earn the save. A wild pitch on a swinging strike three gave Quad Cities a baserunner, but they were unable to advance him past first base. Fellow reliever Bayron Zepeda (3-2) was rewarded for a scoreless eighth inning with the win.

South Bend starter Ryan Cook also pitched well, scattering nine hits over seven strong innings and allowing just one run. He struck out eight without issuing a walk and stranded eight River Bandits baserunners during his time on the mound.

Quad Cities lost despite out-hitting South Bend, 10-5, largely because they stranded 10 runners on the night.

Though the starters controlled the game for most of the evening, each team reached the scoreboard once in the early going.

Justin Parker doubled and scored to give the Silver Hawks a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the River Bandits evened the score in the fourth. Jason Stidham started the rally by slicing a single to left-center and advanced to second when Matt Carpenter was hit by a one-out pitch. There were two away when Frederick Parejo rolled a hard-hit grounder into center, plating Stidham to even the score at 1-1.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits continue their six-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night. They will return to the Quad Cities on Monday, August 3, for a four-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels that starts with Klement's Dollar Dog Night!

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