MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits' roar back for seven runs over final three frames

April 25, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Staring into the jaws of defeat, the Quad Cities River Bandits rallied for seven runs over the final three innings - including a pair in the bottom of the ninth - to walk off with a 9-8 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Saturday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities (7-7) entered the seventh inning having committed five errors, stranded nine men on base and been outhit 8-3. But when shortstop Niko Vasquez made a sprawling catch running away from the diamond and into shallow center field in the top of the seventh, the defensive gem sparked a comeback that Wisconsin (7-7) could not withstand.

The catch by Vasquez came on the heels of a bases-loaded strikeout by the 20-year-old in the bottom of the sixth but - trailing 5-2 - the River Bandits began mounting their comeback in the seventh.

Chris Swauger's infield single opened the frame, and a walk to Osvaldo Morales followed by a Charlie Cutler base hit loaded the bases. Alex Castellanos walked on four pitches to force in a run, and two batters later Ryde Rodriguez clubbed a double off the left field wall that cleared the bases to put Quad Cities ahead, 6-5, for the first time in the ballgame.

The lead was short-lived, however. After inducing a pair of groundouts to open the top of the eighth, Bandits' lefty George Brown walked the next two batters. Brett Lawrie, the 16th overall selection in the 2008 draft, then stepped up and smacked a three-run homer the other way to recapture the advantage for the Timber Rattlers, 8-6.

But Quad Cities refused to roll over.

Vasquez led off the bottom of the eighth by scorching a liner to the gap in right-center and motoring around the bases for a triple. One pitch later, Swauger's single to right made it an 8-7 ballgame.

After reliever Casey Mulligan twirled a scoreless top of the ninth, the River Bandits kept rolling in the bottom half of the frame.

Domnit Bolivar opened the inning by jumping out of the way of an inside fastball, and moments later belted a 2-0 pitch over the fence in center for a game-tying solo homer. Rodriguez followed with a bloop-single to left-center and moved to second after Brett Lilley drew a one-out walk.

That set the stage for Vasquez, who saw just one pitch in the bottom of the ninth. The Las Vegas native stroked it over the head of center fielder Cutter Dykstra to drive home Rodriguez for the walk-off, 9-8 winner. As the crowd exploded, the River Bandits spilled out of the dugout to celebrate the dramatic comeback victory.

Mulligan (1-0) picked up the win while Kris Dabrowiecki (0-1) suffered the loss in his Timber Rattlers debut.

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics



Midwest League Stories from April 25, 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