MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits' All-Star Leads Charge in 7-5 Win

Published on June 5, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits got big nights from their two hottest hitters on Friday, rallying for two runs in the top of the ninth to sneak out a 7-5 win over the Burlington Bees at Community Field.

Quad Cities (25-28) watched recently-named All-Star Charlie Cutler go 4-for-4 with a home run, while Alex Castellanos extended his hitting streak to a team-high 11 games and scored the game-winning run. Burlington (22-31) came back late to tie the score with a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, only to watch Quad Cities win it in the ninth to salvage a four-game series split.

The game was tied 5-5 with Bees' All-Star reliever Barry Bowden on the hill in the ninth. Castellanos started the rally by drawing a one-out walk and stealing second base, part of a two-hit night in which he scored three runs and swiped two bags. Cutler followed with a liner to left that put men at the corners, capping a four-hit night that saw his league-leading batting average soar to .397. Osvaldo Morales followed with his team-leading 40th RBI of the year, a tie-breaking sacrifice fly to right that scored Castellanos. One batter later, Jarred Bogany ripped a run-scoring double off the wall in left that plated Cutler for a 7-5 lead.

Things got interesting with Dave Carpenter on the hill in the bottom of the ninth, as a single and two walks loaded the bases for Burlington. But the hard-throwing right-hander eventually buckled down to strike out Jose Bonilla with a fastball at the knees, stranding the bases loaded to notch his third save of the year.

Joel Pichardo (1-0) earned the win for Quad Cities with a scoreless eighth, while Bowden (0-2) tossed the final two innings and took the loss for Burlington. A fantastic start by Arquimedes Nieto got lost in the shuffle, as the 20-year-old Panamanian overcame two early runs to toss six strong innings, retiring the last 11 batters he faced and using just 21 pitches to cruise through his final three innings of work.

Early on, the ballgame began with a frantic first inning when both teams plated two runs in the opening frame.

Cutler and Castellanos set the table for Quad Cities with back-to-back one out singles, while Frederick Parejo brought them both in with a two-out knock to right-center. Burlington countered with three consecutive extra-base hits to open the bottom of the first, as Jarrod Dyson's triple was followed by run-scoring doubles from Fernando Garcia and Eric Hosmer to even the score at 2-2.

In the top of the third, the River Bandits recaptured the lead. After Castellanos opened the frame with his second single of the evening, Cutler turned on a 1-0 pitch and launched his fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot to right that gave Quad Cities a 4-2 lead.

Cutler added an RBI-single with two outs in the seventh to make it a 5-2 game, but the Bees rallied to tie the score in the bottom half of the frame.

Chase Fontaine started the rally with a leadoff single against reliever Ramon Delgado, while a one-out knock from Patrick Norris put two men aboard. Dyson added a liner over the second baseman to drive home one run, and promptly stole second base to move into scoring position. There were two away when Eric Hosmer clubbed a liner deep to right-center, while speedy center fielder Travis Mitchell got a good jump and tracked the ball down. But as Mitchell leapt the ball bounced off his glove and both runners scored to tie the game at 5-5.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park on Saturday to kick off an eight-game homestand, the last of the first half. It starts with John Deere Night on a Rockin' Saturday that will feature a post-game concert by Superfly Samurai as well as ‘80's Night and a free CPR course! Ladies Night presented by Redken follows on a U.S. Bank Family Sunday, as the ladies will be taken care of with free massages and other female-oriented promotions while the kids will run the bases after the game and get player autographs. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Night will honor QCA Special Olympians in addition to a fantastic post-game fireworks display. Every Tuesday is an Economic Stimulus Tuesday with 2-for-1 tickets and free dinner for kids 12-and-under!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

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



Midwest League Stories from June 5, 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