MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Early Errors Prove Too Much To Overcome

Published on May 12, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Monday night's game between the Quad Cities River Bandits and the Peoria Chiefs went through a series of momentum changes over the course of the evening, but in the end the River Bandits' five errors built a deficit too tall for their late comeback bid, resulting in a 7-5 loss to the Chiefs at O'Brien Field.

Quad Cities (17-17) fell back to .500 with the loss despite getting multi-hit games from each of the first three batters in the order. Peoria (14-23) was able to capitalize on four first-inning errors to take an early lead and held off the River Bandits from there.

Things started off on the right note for the River Bandits thanks to Tommy Pham, who was batting leadoff in his first game of the season for Quad Cities since joining the club over the weekend. The 20-year-old outfielder from Las Vegas opened the game with a bang, turning on the first pitch of the night and blasting a towering homer to left for a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be a sign of things to come, as sloppy defensive play in the bottom of the first allowed the Chiefs to grab a commanding lead.

The bases were loaded thanks to a walk, a bunt single, and an error when Marquez Smith stepped to the plate with one out. Smith then broke his bat on a one-hopper to the mound, but River Bandits' starter Chuckie Fick dropped the potential double-play ball and then threw it away towards first, committing a pair of errors on the same play that allowed two runs to score. Peoria followed with three consecutive singles, including a two-run knock by Jovan Rosa and another run-scoring hit by Elvis Lara. A fourth error later in the inning allowed the final run to score, spotting Peoria a 6-1 lead on exclusively unearned runs.

In the top of the fifth, Quad Cities stormed back. Luis De La Cruz started the rally with a leadoff single, and with one away four consecutive batters hit safely. The first was Pham, who drove home De La Cruz with a groundball single up the middle. Pete Kozma and Charlie Kingrey each found the hole on the right side for singles of their own, with Kingrey's base hit scoring Pham from second. Andrew Brown followed with a double to left that one-hopped the wall and drove home Kozma, while Matt Arburr's RBI-groundout moments later pulled the River Bandits to within 6-5.

As it turned out, however, that was the last time Quad Cities was able to cross the plate. Meanwhile, Peoria added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to an RBI-single with two outs by Kyler Burke that pushed the score to 7-5.

Ryan Acosta (1-1) earned the win for the Chiefs, leaving the ballgame with a 6-5 lead after allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings. Craig Muschko (2) pitched the final two frames for the save, retiring all six batters he faced and striking out one.

The loss went to Chuckie Fick (0-1), who gave up six runs - none of which were earned - on five hits over three innings. He also struck two, walked one, and committed two costly errors.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits are in the midst of a seven-game commuter trip that continues with the second game on Tuesday in Peoria and winds down in Burlington with a three-game series over the weekend. Quad Cities will return to Davenport to welcome in Ryne Sandberg and the Peoria Chiefs on Monday, May 19, for Indiana Jones Night. The series will continue with Make-a-Wish Night on May 20, an autographed baseball giveaway on May 21, and Bad Fad Night on a Thirst-day Thursday on May 22. Merchandise 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



Midwest League Stories from May 12, 2008


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