MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits make it five in a row

Published on April 29, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits improved to 9-2 at home and 5-0 on the current homestand with a 3-1 win over the South Bend Silver Hawks on Wednesday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities (11-7) got five of their six hits from the heart of the order, as Niko Vasquez and Chris Swauger each went 2-for-4 and Osvaldo Morales added an RBI-single. South Bend (8-11) mounted a series of comeback attempts in the middle innings, but stranded 11 men on base in the loss.

Right off the bat, the River Bandits jumped on top in the opening frame. Brett Lilley drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a double by Swauger, while a low liner off the bat of Morales drove Lilley home for a 1-0 lead. Charlie Cutler followed with a fly ball to center, but Alberto Diaz made the catch and fired a strike to the dish to gun down a tagging Swauger for the third out of the inning.

Meanwhile, Quad Cities starter Chuckie Fick was cruising along, allowing just one hit and two baserunners through his first 3.2 frames before the Silver Hawks got to him with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Parker, Alfredo Marte and Nelson Gomez checked in with three-consecutive singles, and the Gomez blooper to center plated Parker to even the score at 1-1.

The River Bandits worked out of jams in the middle innings, leaving the Silver Hawks with men at the corners in the fifth and with the bases loaded in the sixth before rallying to take the lead.

In a 1-1 tie, Vasquez led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to right and moved to third on Swauger's second double of the evening. With one out, Cutler broke the tie with a long sacrifice fly to right as Vasquez tagged and scored. Moments later, a wild pitch allowed Swauger to race home for a 3-1 lead.

Andres Rosales (2-0) earned the win with three scoreless frames out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and overcoming a shaky start to retire eight of the last nine batters he faced. Fick put together a solid start with five one-run innings, while Dave Carpenter (1) struck out a pair in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the year.

Brett Moorhead (0-2) suffered the loss, giving up three runs on six hits over six innings of work.

UP NEXT: Fans will enjoy $2 draft beer and fountain Pepsi products on a Thirst-day Thursday. On Friday, the homestand will wind down with a Baseball Air Freshener Giveaway courtesy of Midas and a post-game fireworks extravaganza on a Fireworks Friday!

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!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

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



Midwest League Stories from April 29, 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