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MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Early lead slips away from Swing

April 23, 2006 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Swing of the Quad Cities dropped a tough one Sunday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, allowing Fort Wayne to rally for eight consecutive runs and hand the Swing their second straight loss, 8-6.

Quad Cities (8-9) led 5-0 early, but could not hold on as Fort Wayne (10-6) battled back to drop the Swing under the .500 mark.

For the first time since April 13, the Swing crossed the plate first Sunday afternoon. Daniel Nelson hammered a double over the head of Josh Alley in center field to open the ballgame. Colby Rasmus followed by pulling a bouncing ball double inside the bag at first base, putting the Swing up 1-0 and ending a stretch of eight straight games in which the opposition scored first.

In the top of the second, Quad Cities went back to work. Randy Roth doubled with one out and advanced to third when Bryan Anderson beat out an infield single. Brandon Yarbrough then connected on a towering fly ball to right-center, driving in both baserunners with a triple. Yarbrough would cross the plate later in the inning on a single by Rasmus, his second run-scoring hit of the afternoon, to give the Swing a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the frame, starter Cory Meacham worked out of a jam. With nobody out and men on second and third, Kyle Blanks hit a screaming line drive to the left side that was snared by a diving Nelson at short. Meacham then struck out Brandon Gottier looking, and induced a groundball for the third out of the frame.

With two outs in the third Roth lined his fifth home run of the season over the wall in left, and Quad Cities took a 5-0 lead. Roth, who has been on a tear away from John O'Donnell Stadium, has 15 of his 18 hits, all five of his home runs, and 14 of his 15 RBI on the road.

But that was the beginning of the end for the Swing.

In the bottom of the fourth, Meacham walked the first three batters of the inning. Brandon Gottier was hit by a pitch with one out to put the Wizards on the board, and Chad Steiner followed with a two-run double to left to make it a 5-3 ballgame.

Seth Johnston led off the fifth with a long home run to left-center, extending his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games at the expense of Swing reliever Trey Hearne. With one out Nic Crosta and Will Venable hit back-to-back singles. After Matt Wilkerson's throw in air-mailed Nelson, Crosta was able to cross the plate and tie the game at five with an unearned run.

The score was tied in the seventh when Venable led off the frame with his second double of the game and third of the series. He remained at third two outs later, when Steiner hit a ground ball inside of the third base line. Roth stumbled in his rush to get to the ball, and it snuck by him to give the Wizards their first lead of the game. Later in the inning, Johnston added a two-run single to left and Fort Wayne took an 8-5 lead.

Quad Cities pushed a run across in the eighth inning on Wes Swackhamer's pinch-hit groundout, and tried to rally in the ninth. The Wizards committed all three of their errors in the final frame, but with two men aboard Roth flew out to the warning track in right field, and the Swing had run out of outs.

Jonathan Mikrut (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing three two-out runs on four hits and a walk as the Wizards jumped out in front in the seventh. Meacham did not figure into the decision, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts in four innings of work.

Alfredo Fernandez (2-0) was the winner for Fort Wayne despite allowing a run on one hit and a pair of walks. Starter Stevie Delabar was touched for five runs on eight hits in five innings, though he did retire the final seven batters he faced before being removed from the game.

UP NEXT: The Swing will close out their series in Fort Wayne on Monday night, with RHP Phillip Andersen (0-2, 8.04) taking the mound opposite RHP Grant Varnell (1-1, 3.00). First pitch is scheduled for 5:00, and pre-game coverage on WKBF AM-1270 will begin at 4:45.

NEXT HOMESTAND: The Swing will return to John O'Donnell Stadium on Tuesday to begin a 13-day homestand that will be the longest of the season. Quad Cities will welcome in Beloit, Lansing, and South Bend for four games each, and will be home through May 7.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: The Swing of the Quad Cities will close out the month of April with some great promotions. Thursday, April 27 will be a 97 Rock/Pluckers Thirsty Thursday. The first 1,000 fans through the gates on April 28 will be able to take advantage of a poster giveaway, and April 29 will feature the first fireworks night of the year, sponsored by KWQC. The month ends with a Family Fun Day on April 30, complete with clowns, face-painting, and the opportunity for kids to run the bases after the game.

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics



Midwest League Stories from April 23, 2006


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