Bandits Avoid Sweep With 7-3 Win
June 10, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release
The Quad Cities River Bandits avoided a four-game sweep with a 7-3 victory on Tuesday night, getting homers from Alex Castellanos and Jared Bogany to knock off the Clinton LumberKings at Modern Woodmen Park.
Quad Cities (26-31) snapped a three-game losing streak with their first win of the homestand, a stretch that will continue with a four-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels starting Wednesday with Modern Woodmen Night. Clinton (31-27) jumped out to a quick lead on Tuesday, but could not hold it behind one of the league's best pitchers in Brett Lorin.
Trailing 1-0 heading to the bottom of the first, the River Bandits quickly evened up the score thanks to the red-hot bat of Castellanos. Batting leadoff for the third consecutive game, the infielder from Miami picked up his third straight leadoff hit by clubbing a 1-0 pitch onto the berm in left field. His third jack of the year also extended his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest current streak in the Midwest League.
Still, Quad Cities was down 2-1 before tying the game with a fundamentally sound bottom of the third inning. Osvaldo Morales led off the frame with an opposite-field double to right and promptly moved to second on a groundout from Paul Cruz. Roberto Espinoza followed with a sacrifice fly to center that made it a 2-2 ballgame.
The River Bandits took the lead for good in the fifth when Jarred Bogany led off with his first home run of the year, a solo shot that landed on the berm in left field. One out later Morales lined a single to center, eventually scoring on a groundout by Espinoza for a 4-2 advantage.
Clinton pulled to within 4-3 with a run in the top of the sixth, but Quad Cities got it right back in the bottom half of the frame. Brett Lilley opened the inning with a sinking liner to center that eluded Denny Almonte and turned into a triple. Although LumberKings' lefty Greg Moviel struck out the next two men, a passed ball soon followed and enabled Lilley to race home.
The River Bandits added two more insurance runs in the eighth. After a single by Travis Mitchell, Lilley laid down an excellent bunt up the first base line that left Clinton without a play. A sacrifice moved the runners to second and third, while the second hit of the night by Castellanos also led to his second RBI. Moments later, a throwing error on an attempted stolen base allowed Lilley to score from third for the decisive 7-3 advantage.
Quad Cities starter Hector Cardenas (4-2) tossed five solid innings to earn the win, allowing two runs on six hits while fanning three. After giving up a single run in each of the first two frames, the Dominican left-hander blanked the LumberKings over the next three innings while recording all nine of those outs on groundballs (7) and strikeouts (2).
Lorin (4-3) suffered the loss for Clinton despite entering play with the league's second best ERA and taking over the league-lead in strikeouts over the course of the night. The Midwest League All-Star was tagged for four runs - three earned - on eight hits over five innings while fanning four and walking none.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits continue their final homestand of the first half on Wednesday with Modern Woodmen Night, featuring a free River Bandits hat giveaway to the first 3,000 fans. Thirst-day Thursday will feature $2 drink specials on all draft beer and fountain Pepsi products. The weekend rolls in with a Fireworks Friday featuring a daytime talk by the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation Women of Inspiration and a Scout Night sleepover. Last, but certainly not least, the homestand concludes with Rudy's Tacos Night on a Rockin' Saturday. A night themed after the best taco restaurant in town will start with a Brett Wallace bobblehead doll giveaway before winding down with a post-game concert by Rockin' Jake!
ABOUT THE BANDITS: Under new ownership and management in 2008, the Quad Cities River Bandits topped 207,000 fans for only the sixth time in team history and the first time in 12 years. Having recently completed one of the most successful seasons in the history of the franchise - and with a renewed dedication to fans, sponsors and the Quad Cities community - the return of the River Bandits has brought a resurgence of support for the team. Banditwear, season tickets and mini-plans, and individual game tickets are on sale for the 2009 season by calling (563) 3-BANDIT or heading to www.RiverBandits.com. But hurry - good seats are going fast!
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from June 10, 2009
- Brooks Homers Twice in 8-2 Kernels Win - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- McClanahan, Lugnuts Outslug Loons, 9-8 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Kjeldgaard Connects for Game Winner - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Bandits Roughed Up in Series-Opener - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Cougars Drop Road Trip Opener - Kane County Cougars
- Bees Open Series with a Two-Run Loss to Beloit - Burlington Bees
- Bullpen Lets Chiefs Down Again, Playoffs Slipping Away - Peoria Chiefs
- Rally in Seventh Give Caps' Win - West Michigan Whitecaps
- TinCaps Edge Dayton - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Lead Lost As Hawks Drop Eighth in a Row - South Bend Silver Hawks
- TinCaps Edge Dragons 2-1 - Dayton Dragons
- Villarreal Activated From Disabled List - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Dragons Place Kuo On Disabled List; Feiner Returns From Sarasota - Dayton Dragons
- Wendy's Tiger Fridays Continues With Rick Leach - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Dragons GameDay - Dayton Dragons
- Bandits Avoid Sweep With 7-3 Win - Quad Cities River Bandits
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.
