MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Eight-Run Eighth Highlights Swing Rally

Published on August 3, 2007 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Swing of the Quad Cities mustered just one run through the first seven innings of Friday night's contest at Fifth Third Ballpark, but the offense exploded for eight runs on nine hits in an eighth-inning rally to snap a three-game losing streak with an 11-5 win over the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Quad Cities (23-16, 61-47) sent 13 men to the plate during the rally, as the only outs recorded through the first 12 batters were on a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. West Michigan (26-14, 64-46) had no answer for Swing slugger Christian Reyes, whose 4-for-5 night included a three-run homer and a two-run single in the eighth inning alone.

Quad Cities was trailing 5-1 when their bats came to life in the top of the eighth. Tony Cruz and Steven Hill each singled to open the frame, and Reyes followed with a towering three-run homer to left - his 10th of the year - to pull the Swing to within one run. After a pitching change brought Dan Fyvie into the ballgame, the rally continued. Nick Derba greeted him with a double down the left field line, and a sacrifice bunt moved him to third before Daryl Jones' sacrifice fly tied the score at 5-5.

But the Swing were hardly done. Oliver Marmol, promoted from the New York-Penn League earlier in the day, drew a walk and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Antone DeJesus. Jared Schweitzer then sent a bouncing ball to short that went for an infield single, scoring Marmol to give Quad Cities their first lead of the game. Cruz and Hill each added their second singles of the inning to load the bases, and Reyes capped the rally with the team's fifth single in a row, a two-run knock to left that finished off the eight-run inning and gave the Swing a 9-5 lead.

Quad Cities added two more runs in the ninth. Marmol tripled home Jones with one away and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by DeJesus to cement the 11-5 victory.

Mike Schellinger (6-3) took the win out of the bullpen, allowing one run over 2.1 innings and striking out three. The loss went to Fyvie, who was tagged for five runs on five hits while recording just two outs - a pair of sacrifices - in the eighth.

The Whitecaps reached the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning, sparked by a leadoff triple down the right field line by Gorkys Hernandez. After Ryan Strieby was hit by a pitch, Michael Bertram sent a fly ball into the bullpen down the left field line. Left fielder Christian Lopez raced over and made a diving catch, but after falling awkwardly on his hand, he remained on the ground writhing in pain while Hernandez scored and Strieby moved from first to third after tagging up. Lopez eventually got up and remained in the game, but an infield single later in the frame gave West Michigan a 2-0 advantage.

One inning later, the Whitecaps added to the lead. Joe Tucker led off with a single and stole second, putting him in position to score on Brennan Boesch's single, pushing the score to 3-0.

The Swing deficit was 4-0 when they finally reached the scoreboard in the sixth. The bases were empty with two outs when Steven Hill drew a walk and Christian Reyes singled him to second. Nick Derba followed by driving a double into the right-field corner, plating Hill to pull to within 4-1.

DeJesus' first single in the seventh inning extended his team-high hitting streak to 12 games. During the stretch, the pesky leadoff hitter out of Kentucky is batting .370 with 14 runs, 12 walks, eight RBI, and four stolen bases.

TICKETS: Tickets for all events at John O'Donnell Stadium can be purchased by calling the Swing of the Quad Cities ticket office at (563) 328-2000, coming to the box office located at the stadium along South Gaines Street, or by logging on to www.swingbaseball.com.

UP NEXT: The Swing are in the midst of a 10-game road stretch that winds down in West Michigan through Monday. They will return to the Quad Cities for a 10-game homestand starting on Tuesday, August 7. All Swing games feature a radio broadcast that can be heard on WKBF AM-1270 or online at www.swingbaseball.com, with the pre-game show starting 15 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: The Swing kickoff a 10-game homestand on Tuesday with Trinity Employee Night. On Wednesday, the cities of Davenport and Rock Island will celebrate being named the most livable small cities in America by handing out free tickets to the first 2,000 fans to the ballpark!!! Thursday will be a Bent River Brewing Company Thirsty Thursday, featuring Rock 104.9's Dave & Darren as well as singles night, including the chance to win a date with Swing Director of Promotions Jess Schineller. Friday's game will feature post-game FIREWORKS before a Boy Scout sleepover, setting the stage for a fantastic weekend of more great promotions!!!

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Midwest League Stories from August 3, 2007


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