MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Newcomers Lift Swing To Victory

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


The Swing of the Quad Cities got a boost from a pair of 2007 draftees making their Midwest League debuts on Friday night, as 26th-rounder Tony Cruz and 30th-rounder Nick Derba each homered in an 8-3 victory over the Peoria Chiefs in front of a crowd of 3,733 at John O'Donnell Stadium.

Quad Cities (11-9, 49-40) also got a strong pitching performance from Brad Furnish, who allowed just two hits over six innings for the victory. Peoria (12-9, 43-47) fell to 1-5 against the Swing, who have excelled against Hall of Fame second baseman and first-year Chiefs' skipper Ryne Sandberg this season.

The Swing played with a full 25-man roster for the first time since Sunday, as a trio of call-ups earlier in the week were replaced by three 2007 Cardinals draft picks. Cruz led the way with a 3-for-5 game that included a three-run homer that opened up a four-run lead, Derba added a two-run shot that put Quad Cities up by a seven-spot, and 16th-rounder Antone DeJesus made a brief pinch-running appearance late in the contest.

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the third, when seven consecutive Swing batters reached base as Quad Cities blew things open with a five-run outburst. It all began with one-out walks to Christian Lopez and Daryl Jones, while Jared Schweitzer started the scoring with a line-drive single to left-center. Cruz swung at the very next pitch of the game - in just his second at-bat in a Swing uniform - and drove a three-run homer out of the yard to left.

Steven Hill capped the rally, slugging a 3-1 pitch the other way that left the yard to right-center. The third set of back-to-back Swing home runs this season - and second in less than a week - gave Quad Cities a healthy 5-0 lead.

Two innings later, another Swing newcomer added to the lead. After Hill's single led off the inning, Derba came to the plate with a runner at first and one away. The former Manhattan College standout promptly blasted a towering two-run homer to left, extending the advantage to 7-0.

Meanwhile, Furnish (3-3) was in control from start to finish, twirling six two-hit innings to pick up the victory. The southpaw did not allow a base hit until the fourth inning, and the only run against him came in the sixth. He set down the side in order in three of his six frames, striking out four while walking two. Furnish has now allowed three hits or less in 16 of his 21 outings this season.

The Chiefs scratched across a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh before the Swing tacked on their final run in the eighth. Jones was at first when Schweitzer slapped a single down the right field line, and when the ball skipped past Alfred Joseph, Jones raced all the way home from first base for the decisive 8-3 margin.

The loss went to Robert Hernandez (3-5), who was roughed up for seven runs on seven hits over five innings of work. The 18-year-old sailed through his first two innings of work before eventually allowing three home runs in the loss.

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 take on Ryne Sandberg and the Peoria Chiefs in a four-game, home-and-home that include Saturday night's ballgame in Davenport. 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: Ryne Sandberg and the Peoria Chiefs will be at John O'Donnell Stadium on Saturday!!! Get to the ballpark early, as the first 800 fans through the gates will pick up a Justin Morneau bobblehead doll thanks to U.S. Cellular, FOX-18, Mediacom, WOC, and the Dispatch-Argus!!!

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Midwest League Stories from July 13, 2007


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