MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits Drop 3-0 Pitchers' Duel

Published on July 2, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Day one of the Quad Cities River Bandits' two-day Independence Day blowout saw 6,979 fans turn out at Modern Woodmen Park on Thursday to enjoy a huge post-game fireworks display, an appearance from Sgt. Slaughter, and an overall festive atmosphere during a hard-fought 3-0 loss to the Burlington Bees.

Quad Cities (3-4, 33-44) and Burlington (4-3, 33-44) matched zeros early on as both starting pitchers controlled the tempo, while Jason Taylor's three-run homer in the sixth inning provided the game's only offense. The River Bandits will look to salvage a series split on Friday night, as the City of Davenport's Red, White and BOOM fireworks show kicks off post-game from Modern Woodmen Park.

For the second time this season, Bees' starter Mike Lehmann (3-3) tossed six scoreless frames to beat the River Bandits. On June 1, the 20-year-old native of Mississippi was rewarded with a complete game shutout when heavy rains forced a game at Community Field to be completed early. Thursday night, he limited Quad Cities to just three hits and walked one, recording 11 of his outs on the ground and earning the victory despite not recording a strikeout.

The game was scoreless until the top of the sixth, when Taylor's bomb proved to be the difference. Nick Van Stratten led off the inning with a double down the third base line and moved to third on a groundout. After Nick Francis drew a walk, Taylor took a 2-0 pitch and lifted a high fly ball to left field that carried past a leaping Jarred Bogany and over the fence for a three-run homer.

Burlington reliever Blaine Hardy (1) did the rest, earning his first save of the season with three strong innings out of the bullpen. He allowed one hit in each frame and struck out three.

The homer by Taylor spoiled an otherwise strong outing by Quad Cities' Kevin Thomas (3-4), who carried a four-hit shutout into the sixth before falling victim to the big fly. He still managed to turn in a quality start, giving up three runs on six hits over six innings of work.

Matt Carpenter also turned in a noteworthy performance in his River Bandits debut. A 13th-round pick less than a month ago out of Texas Christian University, the 23-year-old went 3-for-4 with a triple while playing a strong third base. Carpenter joined Quad Cities after hitting safely in all eight of his games with the Batavia Muckdogs in his first exposure to pro ball, batting .484 during his brief stay in the New York-Penn League.

UP NEXT: Continue the Independence Day celebration with the River Bandits on Friday night 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!

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Midwest League Stories from July 2, 2009


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