MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Williams Passes up Cycle as Bandits Pound Lugnuts, 15-3

Published on July 12, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits dominated the Lansing Lugnuts Thursday night, scoring two or more runs in four different innings, and tied a season-high by hitting four home runs, in a lopsided 15-3 win at Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, Michigan.

Quad Cities (47-42 overall, 12-8 second half) broke the game open in the top of the second inning with four runs, with the score already 2-0 in favor of the River Bandits. Right fielder David Medina hit a solo home run to lead off the frame to make it 3-0, then back-to-back walks to Luis Mateo and Roberto Reyes ended the night early for Lansing right-hander Aaron Sanchez (8-1). The first batter reliever Kramer Champlin faced, shortstop Matt Williams, hit a three-run home run to make it a 6-0 game. Sanchez was charged with two of the runs, bringing his total for the night to five earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings - raising his earned run average on the year from 0.72 to 1.41.

The River Bandits tallied five more runs in the top of the fifth inning, with Williams leading off with a triple and Nick Martini scoring him with an RBI single to get things started. After Anthony Garcia singled, a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring position. The first run scored on a groundout by River Bandits catcher Juan Castillo, and the final runs of the inning scored when Lansing left fielder Kenny Wilson made an error that allowed both Medina and Garcia to score.

Lansing (58-31, 11-9) could not solve left-hander Hector Hernandez (6-5), who went six strong innings, allowing two earned runs on five base hits, while striking out four. He did not walk a batter.

Lansing reliever Bryan Longpre came on in the top of the sixth, but yielded the same results. Reyes led off the inning with a single, and Williams added a double to right field, giving Quad Cities two on, and no outs. Martini hit a ground ball to first base that scored Reyes, making it an 11-0 game. RBI singles by Stephen Piscotty and Castillo added two more runs to push the Quad Cities' advantage to 13-0.

The Lugnuts scored their two runs off Hernandez in the sixth, on three consecutive extra base hits. Wilson led off the inning with a double, and scored on an RBI triple by Carlos Perez. The Lansing catcher, Perez, came around to score on an RBI double by Chris Hawkins that cut the River Bandits' lead to 13-2. Lansing added their final run in the seventh on a wild pitch by reliever Robert Stock.

Quad Cities scored once in each of the final two innings. In the eighth, Williams scored on a wild pitch by Longpre with Casey Rasmus at the plate and in the ninth, Roberto De La Cruz hit his fifth home run of the year off reliever Aleson Escalante.

In the top of the first inning, the Quad Cities left fielder Garcia hit a two-run home run that just cleared the wall in right field. The blast marked the thirteenth homer of the year for Garcia, and his second in as many days. Williams went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and a three-run home run to lead the River Bandits offense.

Quad Cities and Lansing conclude their series with the rubber match Friday at 6:05 p.m. Quad Cities left-hander Kyle Hald (4-4) will oppose right-hander Blake McFarland (4-2) of Lansing.

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Midwest League Stories from July 12, 2012


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