MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Cougars Beat up on Bandits' Pen

Published on June 24, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits' bullpen ran out of gas on Tuesday afternoon, roughed up for six runs in a two-inning span during a 7-1 loss to the Kane County Cougars at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities (2-4, 35-35) entered play two arms short in their relief corps thanks to Monday's call-up of Blake King and Chuckie Fick's arm bruise. Kane County (4-2, 43-31) took advantage in the later stages to break open a game that was tied 1-1 heading into the seventh.

The River Bandits reached the scoreboard first on a controversial home run in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Arburr swung at a breaking ball and slugged it deep to left-center for what was initially ruled a double high off the wall. But after a short conference, the umpires reversed the ruling and claimed the ball actually bounced off the railing above the yellow line. Despite the Cougars' protests, Arburr's 10th homer of the year broke the scoreless tie.

Quad Cities' 1-0 lead did not last long, however. Consecutive one-out walks in the top of the fifth inning started a rally for Kane County, and moments later a single loaded the bases. Larry Cobb followed with a fly ball to left field on the very next pitch, deep enough for a sacrifice fly that tied the score at 1-1.

That margin held until late in the game, when the Cougars were able to take advantage of a River Bandits bullpen that has been leaned on heavily since the All-Star break. Through the first six games of the second half, the relief corps has tossed 22 combined innings.

Pitching for the second time in as many nights, reliever Dylan Gonzalez walked two batters and then allowed two doubles over a four-batter stretch in the seventh. Cobb's two-base hit gave Kane County a 2-1 lead, while Corey Brown added a two-run double - his third of the game - to stretch the advantage to 4-1.

Also pitching on back-to-back nights, Pete Parise came in for the eighth inning. The right-hander gave up two singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly as the Cougars added three more runs - just one of which was earned - to take a 7-1 lead and put the game away.

Scott Hodsdon (4-5) turned in a strong starting performance for Kane County, tossing six innings and allowing one run on three hits to earn the win. Tyson Ross followed with two strikeouts over two hitless innings of relief in his pro debut, while Leonardo Espinal finished things off with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.

Gonzalez (0-3) took the loss for Quad Cities, allowing three runs in the top of the seventh as the Cougars took the lead for good.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits continue their home series against the Kane County Cougars on Wednesday with Survivor Night as well as a Wacky WINS-Day. The series concludes with a Thirst-day Thursday, featuring a FREE DIAMOND for one lucky lady thanks to the Quad-City Times diamond dig! 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 June 24, 2008


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