MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

QC steals late win in road trip opener

July 23, 2008 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Wednesday night, wiggling out of a defensive jam in the 10th before pulling off a 6-4 win in 11 innings over the Lansing Lugnuts at Oldsmobile Park.

Quad Cities (17-15, 50-46) had a long workday on Wednesday, catching a 5:30 a.m. bus to get to Michigan before playing 11 innings to earn the win. Lansing (19-12, 58-44) stranded a runner in scoring position in each of their final three offensive chances only to watch the River Bandits sneak out with the victory.

The game was tied at 4-4 in extra innings when the River Bandits dodged a bullet in the bottom of the 10th. The first pitch thrown by Pete Parise was drilled the other way by Yohermyn Chavez for a double off the wall. But as the next batter was trying to bunt him over, Chavez broke for third and was caught stealing by Roberto Espinoza, nipping the rally in the bud.

As it turned out, the River Bandits capitalized moments later. Brett Wallace opened the top of the 11th with a single and was bunted to second. There were two away when Tommy Pham singled to left and eventually stole second. That left two men in scoring position with two away for Nick Poeples, who lined an 0-2 pitch right back up the middle for a two-run single and a 6-4 lead.

Parise (3-1) made quick work of Lansing in the bottom of the 11th, fanning two and retiring the side in order to earn the win. Estanga (9-3) took the loss, following three dominant one-hit frames by allowing two runs on four hits in his fourth inning of work.

Prior to reaching extra innings, both teams held leads in a back-and-forth affair.

In the bottom of the first, the Lugnuts snatched the advantage with three consecutive extra-base hits. John Tolisano got it started with a one-out double into the gap in left-center and Jonathan Jaspe poked a two-base hit into the left field corner to bring him home. One pitch later, Manny Rodriguez launched a two-run blast to right, putting Lansing ahead by a 3-0 score.

That score held until the top of the fifth when Quad Cities mounted a two-out rally. Peoples got it started by drawing a walk and Espinoza followed with an infield single. The runners were in motion on a 3-2 pitch when Oliver Marmol laced a line drive to left, plating both runners with a two-run double. D'Marcus Ingram then sent a bouncer to the left side of the infield, but the ball caromed off the glove of third baseman Kevin Ahrens and the error allowed Marmol to race home and tie the score, 3-3.

In the top of the sixth, the River Bandits took the lead. Lugnuts starter Marc Rzepczysnki issued a two-out walk to Aaron Luna, which prompted his removal from the game in favor of reliever Jimmy Dougher. But Pham greeted the new pitcher with a double to center that got over the outfielder's head and scored Luna all the way from first. Although Pham was eventually thrown out trying to take third on the throw home, Quad Cities had seized a 4-3 lead.

Meanwhile, River Bandits' starter Chuckie Fick overcame a rough start to put together an impressive performance. Following the three-batter stretch in the first inning that led to three runs, Fick turned into a groundball machine that did not allow a hit to any of the next 20 batters he faced. The only two baserunners he allowed during that span came on a walk and an error respectively.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Moises Sierra broke up Fick's streak of 12 batter's retired in a row by lifting a solo homer to right that tied the score at 4-4.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits are in the midst of a six-game trip to Michigan that includes visits with the Lansing Lugnuts and Great Lakes Loons before a return to Modern Woodmen Park on July 29. Bandit Wear featuring the new team name and logo is currently available by visiting the Modern Woodmen Park team store, and season ticket packages, mini-packages, and the popular You-Pick-10 Plan are on sale at the park or by calling (563) 3-BANDITS!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 23, 2008


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