MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Maiques Makes History with 27th Save

Published on August 13, 2007 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Kenny Maiques made franchise history on Monday night at John O'Donnell Stadium, inducing an infield groundout from Jodam Rivera to put the finishing touches on his 27th save of the season as the Swing of the Quad Cities beat the Fort Wayne Wizards, 5-2.

Maiques moved into sole possession of the single-season saves record previously held by John Huey of the 1983 Quad City Cubs. The 22-year-old from California - who had made just one professional appearance over two seasons prior to 2007 while recovering from Tommy John surgery - entered in the eighth inning and struck out a pair on his way to the four-out save. Next on his list is the career saves record, a mark established by Manuel Barrios of the 1994-95 Quad City River Bandits that Maiques has already tied at 27.

Quad Cities (31-18, 69-49) stayed red hot by improving to 6-1 on the homestand, winning for the seventh time in their last eight games to run their record to 15-5 since July 24. Fort Wayne (17-32, 48-70) fell behind early and never recovered, as the Swing scored all of their runs in the first two innings and cruised to the victory.

Quad Cities wasted no time taking an early lead, reaching the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Daryl Jones was at first and Antone DeJesus was at third with nobody out when Steven Hill jumped on an 0-2 pitch and slugged his third home run in as many games. His 10th longball of the year extended his hitting streak to 11 games while giving the Swing a 3-0 lead.

The scoring continued one inning later, sparked by Oliver Marmol's one-out double. There were two away when Jones looped a single to right, extending his hitting streak to eight games while scoring Marmol from third. Hill followed with a groundball single through the right side, and when Sam Carter's throw to third bounced into the stands, Jones was granted home plate and the lead grew to 5-0.

Swing starter Clayton Mortensen turned in a strong outing, though a strict pitch count prevented him from figuring into the decision. The supplemental first-round pick out of Gonzaga University struck out six batters in a row at one points, firing off four shutout innings while allowing three hits and walking one.

Fort Wayne managed single runs in the fifth and the eighth against the Swing bullpen, but it was not enough to avoid losing the first three games of the series.

The win went to Jason Cairns (2-0), who came in for Mortensen in the fifth and tossed three solid innings. He allowed one run on three hits before handing the ball over to Armando Carrasco, who recorded two outs before giving way to Maiques' record-setting performance.

Brandon Gomes (0-3) took the loss after a rough start to his outing, allowing the three-run homer to Hill before he recorded an out and yielding five runs over the first two innings. He turned it on in the third, retiring eight of the last nine batters he faced and fanning seven without issuing a walk on the night. Still, he allowed five runs - four earned - on nine hits over 4.2 innings as the Wizards never recovered from the early deficit.

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 homestand that kicks off an action-packed month of August at John O'Donnell Stadium! 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 homestand continues on Tuesday with the Family 4-Pack promotion, featuring four box seats, four slices of Dominos pizza, four sodas, and a program for just $44!!!. After an off-day on Wednesday, Ladies Night will take place on a Bent River Brewing Company Thirsty Thursday, featuring Rock 104.9's Dave and Darren. The homestand then concludes with the QC-Times Diamond Dig on a FIREWORKS Friday!!!

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Midwest League Stories from August 13, 2007


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