MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits go bombs away on Bandits

Published on May 30, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits exploded for five home runs on Friday night, highlighted by an inside-the-park homer by Matt Arburr in the eighth inning of a 7-4 win over the Burlington Bees at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities (28-24) belted five longballs in a game for the second time this season, including two each by Arburr and Tommy Pham. The Burlington (21-33) pitching staff racked up 15 strikeouts in a losing effort, and will have to win the series finale on Saturday to avoid dropping their third series to the River Bandits this season.

Burlington led by a 3-2 score after two innings of play when Arburr and Pham, who entered play with five homers each to share the team lead, turned it up a notch. Arburr tied the game with a towering solo shot to left on the first pitch he saw with one out in the fourth inning, giving him a temporary leg-up in the home run department before Pham's two-run blast in the fifth put Quad Cities ahead, 5-3.

That margin was cut to 5-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth when the pair made sure the River Bandits had a bit of breathing room. Pham led off the inning with a bomb the other way, nearly winning one lucky fan a free boat with a solo blast to right-center that narrowly missed the net in the Grace Marine sign. Arburr followed with a shot of his own to right-center, but the ball bounced off the top of the wall and caromed back towards center field. As the center field tracked the ball down and fired in towards the cut-off man, Arburr was waved around third by manager Steve Dillard, and the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder raced home to score as the ball skipped by the catcher. The inside-the-park homer allowed Arburr to join Pham with his seventh home run of the year, giving Quad Cities a 7-4 edge.

That gave Pete Parise (4) all the cushion he needed, as the native New Yorker worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save. Chuckie Fick (1-2) picked up his first win of the year for Quad Cities, allowing three unearned runs on five hits over five solid innings of work to lower his ERA to 2.16 through six appearances.

Juan Abreu (1-4) suffered the loss for Burlington after serving up Pham's two-run homer in the fifth, which proved to be the go-ahead score. He struck out five over three innings of relief work after starter Danny Duffy fanned seven in four frames, and Henry Arias added three punch-outs in the eighth to record 15 strikeouts as a staff. Despite the strikeouts, however, all three hurlers allowed at least three hits and one homer as half of the River Bandits' 10 hits left the yard.

The lead went back and forth early in the game, as Quad Cities reached the scoreboard first on a double by Nick Peoples in the opening frame - marking the outfielder's first professional RBI. After Burlington tied the score on an unearned run in the second, Charlie Kingrey helped the River Bandits recapture the lead one inning later, belting a hanging curveball over the fence in right-center for a 2-1 advantage.

While two more unearned runs in the fourth gave the Bees a lead, the Quad Cities home run barrage would turn the tides as the game went on.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits have one game left in their Eastern Iowa showdown at Modern Woodmen Park, hosting the Burlington Bees on Saturday. The homestand concludes with a Salute to the Cowbell and a Cowbell Giveaway to the first 1,500 fans thanks to Kemp's Ice Cream and Rock 104.9 FM, while "The Warmth" will take the stage live for a post-game concert on a Miller Light and WQAD Newschannel 8 Rockin' Saturday. Bandit Wear featuring the new team name and logo is currently available by visiting the Modern Woodmen Park team store, and season ticket packages, mini-packages, and the popular You-Pick-10 Plan are on sale at the park or by calling (563) 3-BANDITS!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 30, 2008


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