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MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Huge crowd sees rally fall short

June 9, 2005 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


One day after rallying back from a six-run deficit, the Swing came up one big hit short on Thursday night.

A crowd of 5,514 on hand for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans night watched as the Swing were defeated, 6-3, by the South Bend Silver Hawks at John O'Donnell Stadium. The Swing scored twice in the bottom of the ninth and put the tying run on base, but South Bend's Matt Elliott struck out Eric Verbryke to end the game in the favor of the visitors.

With the Swing (32-28) down 6-1 after eight innings, Joe Mather led off the ninth with a single. After a strikeout, Wes Swackhamer hit a sharp grounder towards third, reaching when it was mishandled by Wilkin Castillo to chase starter Ross Ohlendorf from the game. Pinch hitter Chris Patrick walked to load the bases, and then Juan Lucena hit an RBI single into left to slice South Bend's lead to 6-2.

Elliott, who now has 14 saves, came out from the bullpen as pinch hitter Rick Ankiel came to the plate for the Swing, bringing the crowd to its feet. Ankiel, who had not played since tweaking his hamstring on Monday, worked the count full before striking out on a high fastball for the second out of the inning. After Matt Shepherd drew a walk to make it a 6-3 game, Elliott struck out Verbryke with a curveball to end the game.

Matt Scherer (2-5) got the loss for the Swing, allowing six runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out five and did not walk a man. Jaymie Torress allowed five hits but did not allow a run in 1.2 innings, as Mather had an outfield assist to end a scoring threat for the Hawks. Brian Miller struck out one in a scoreless, hitless ninth in his second Swing outing.

The Silver Hawks (36-24) broke through in the top of the fourth inning, putting three runs on the board. Cesar Nicolas had a two-run double, and Wilkin Castillo's two-out single to right brought home Nicolas for a 3-0 South Bend advantage. The Silver Hawks added another run in the fifth frame, as Jereme Milons had a two-out triple and Javier Brito singled him home with two outs.

The attendance of 5,514 was the largest of the season for the Swing, and the second largest in the history of the renovated John O'Donnell Stadium. The Swing welcomed 6,074 fans on Genesis Medical Center night, on July 17, 2004.

Quad Cities started to chip away in the bottom of the sixth inning. Matt Lemanczyk led off the inning with a double that one-hopped the wall in left, and then Matt Shepherd had a bunt base hit. Eric Verbryke then put the Swing on the board with a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Lemanczyk.

But the Silver Hawks scored twice in the top of the seventh, as Travis Gulick had an RBI double and Milons had an RBI single.

UP NEXT: The Swing and Silver Hawks continue the series on Friday, when the Swing send Dennis Dove (5-4, 4.06) to the mound against A.J. Shappi (9-1, 2.74). First pitch is scheduled for 7:00, and pregame coverage on WKBF AM-1270 will begin at 6:45.

PROMOTION: Friday's game will be followed by fireworks, courtesy of KWQC-TV6 and WLLR. In addition, it is Quad City Times Night at John O'Donnell Stadium, and it will also be the annual girl scout campout with the Swing.

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Midwest League Stories from June 9, 2005


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