MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Knock Off River Bandits 4-2 Sunday Afternoon

Published on May 12, 2013 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Davenport, IA- The Peoria Chiefs scored early and late to beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 4-2 Sunday afternoon and get back over the .500 mark at 17-16 on the season. The win gives the Chiefs a chance to win the four game series when the two teams meet in Davenport Monday morning.

The visitors started the scoring in the top of the third against Quad Cities hurler Mike Hauschild. Breyvic Valera reached on an infield single with one out and moved to second on a basehit by Alex Mejia. Mejia was out at second on a fielders' choice and Valera came home on an error by Bandits first baseman Jesse Wierzbicki.

Quad Cities took the lead against Kyle Helisek in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Terrell Joyce drew a walk and Rio Ruiz hit a two-strike home run into the left field berm for a 2-1 Bandits lead. The homer was the second overall this season for Ruiz and his second against the Chiefs.

Peoria came right back in the fifth inning against Hauschild. Valera tripled to center field and scored when Mejia followed with his first career triple to nearly the same spot as the two outfielders had trouble picking up the ball. With the game tied the Chiefs couldn't get Mejia home from third on a strikeout, walk and double play.

The game was still tied 2-2 after six innings as both teams went to the bullpen. The Chiefs struck first against Colton Cain in the top of the seventh. Valera singled to right, his third hit of the game. Mejia dropped a flyball into right field as well and when Jordan Scott and Ariel Ovando collided and fell down, Valera scored the go-ahead run. Mejia ended up at third with his second triple of the game, matching a franchise single-game record. This time the Chiefs brought him home on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Wilson for a 4-2 lead.

Quad Cities threatened in the bottom of the ninth against Chiefs closer Zach Petrick. Carlos Correa singled to left and with one out Joyce drew a walk. Ruiz struck out looking and Brian Blaski grounded into a 6-4 fielders' choice to end the game.

Helisek (3-1) picked up the win and tied a career high with six innings. He allowed two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out five. Joe Donofrio allowed one hit over two shutout innings and struck out one while also inducing a double play. Petrick earned his fifth save while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out two in one shutout inning.

Notes: Mejia tied a Chiefs record with two triples and he had never hit a triple in his pro career before SundayThe last Chiefs player with two triples in a game was Eric Patterson on May 25, 2005Mejia also tied a career high with three hits and he now has eight multi-hit games this seasonValera leads the Chiefs with three 3-hit games and 10 multi-hit gamesThe top two batters in the lineup had six of the Chiefs seven hitsWilson leads the Chiefs with 31 RBIHelisek tied a career high with six innings pitched and turned in his first quality start of the seasonHe is the first Chiefs pitcher to win three games this seasonQuad Cities did not have an at bat with a runner in scoring position until the ninth inningCasey Rasmus recorded the first pickoff by a Chiefs catcher when he caught Jesse Wierzbicki off first base in the fourth inningThe Chiefs are 7-4 in day games this yearPetrick leads the Chiefs with five savesDonofrio picked up his first hold of the seasonThe series ends on Monday at 11:00 a.m. as the Chiefs send RH Josh Lucas (0-2, 9.72) to the mound against Bandits RH Jordan Jankowski (1-0, 3.42)The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 10:45 a.m. Central Time on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android.

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Midwest League Stories from May 12, 2013


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