MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Cougars Hand Bandits 1st May Series Loss

Published on May 29, 2015 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


DAVENPORT, Iowa - Kane County Cougars catcher Stryker Trahan led all players with three hits and two runs, and right-hander Ethan Elias allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, while the Cougars bullpen did not allow a hit in the final 3 1/3 innings of a 5-2 Kane County win and series victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits in front of 5,930 at Modern Woodmen Park Thursday night.

The River Bandits (34-14) hit into four double plays, lost a series for the second time this season and dropped a rubber match for the first time. Quad Cities remained four games ahead of Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League Western Division first-half standings.

For the only time in the three-game series, the River Bandits held the Cougars (24-24) scoreless in the first inning and were first to score. After right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (3-3) pitched a perfect first inning, right fielder Bobby Boyd drew a leadoff walk against Elias (5-1). Boyd stole second base, went to third base on a sacrifice by second baseman Mott Hyde, and scored on an RBI single to left field by center fielder Derek Fisher. Catcher Jacob Nottingham then grounded to shortstop Ildemaro Vargas, who began an inning-ending double play.

With a 1-0 lead, Dykxhoorn began the second inning by walking third baseman Joe Munoz. A wild pitch moved Munoz to second base, and designated hitter Henry Castillo hit a high chopper for an infield single to third baseman Nick Tanielu. Right fielder Ryan Hutchison walked to load the bases. In a nine-pitch at-bat, Trahan hit an RBI single to right field, and Boyd's throw to the infield went to foul territory behind third base, allowing Castillo to score the go-ahead run and putting runners at second and third bases. Dykxhoorn stumbled through his pitching motion for a run-scoring balk, and Vargas lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Trahan for a 4-1 Kane County lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, Elias allowed a leadoff walk to catcher Jamie Ritchie, who extended his on-base streak to 26 games - the longest by a River Bandit since Ryan Jackson reached in 28 straight games April 9-May 11, 2010. But Tanielu immediately grounded to second baseman Cody Regis to begin a double play, and first baseman Ryan Bottger lined out to end the inning. In the third inning, left fielder Sean McMullen hit a leadoff single, but shortstop Thomas Lindauer followed by grounding to Munoz, who began a double play. Boyd reached on a two-out infield single and stole his second base of the game, but Hyde flied out to right field to end the inning.

Dykxhoorn worked around a single and walk in the third inning, and Quad Cities turned a double play to help him in the fourth inning. Trahan had reached third base on a bunt single and single by Vargas, but with the latter attempting to steal second base, Ritchie threw to Lindauer to catch him stealing, and Lindauer spun back to throw to home plate, where Ritchie tagged out Trahan. Dykxhoorn retired the next four batters to finish five innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Quad Cities managed a run in the fourth inning, when Ritchie drew a two-out walk, stole second base and scored on Tanielu's RBI single to left field. But Elias struck out Bottger to end the inning and worked around Lindauer's fifth-inning double. In the sixth, Fisher singled before being caught stealing. Nottingham then singled, and Tanielu hit a two-out single to chase Elias after allowing eight hits, walking three batters and striking out four. Left-hander Steve Hathaway walked Bottger to load the bases before McMullen flied out to left field.

Following Dykxhoorn, right-hander Eric Peterson worked a season-high 2 2/3 innings, allowing an unearned run in the seventh inning, when Trahan doubled, went to third base on Vargas's sacrifice and scored when Lindauer misplayed left fielder Victor Reyes's ground ball. Left-hander Jordan Mills finished by retiring all four Cougars he faced. For Kane County, Hathaway worked around a walk for one inning, right-hander Cody Geyer got help from a double play after a walk in 1 1/3 innings, and left-hander Zac Curtis struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save.

With the best record in pro baseball, Quad Cities begins a season-long 10-game road stretch at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Burlington. River Bandits right-hander Joshua James (1-0) is scheduled to face Bees right-hander Jeremy Rhoades (3-3) in the opener of a four-game series.

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