MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

River Bandits come from behind to earn victory

Published on June 19, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits opened the second half of the season with a bang on Thursday night, rattling off five unanswered runs late in the game to steal a 5-2 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Dale and Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

In their first game since doing away with the tandem starting system, Quad Cities (1-0, 34-31) benefitted from five hitless innings courtesy of four different relievers that gave the offense time to rally. Tommy Pham went 3-for-4 with the game-winning triple and Francisco Rivera went 3-for-4 with two doubles, dealing Cedar Rapids (0-1, 32-37) the late loss.

The River Bandits entered the eighth inning trailing 2-1, but were able to rally against Kernels' reliever Chris Armstrong. The lefty out of Owasso High School issued a one-out walk to his high school teammate Pete Kozma, who moved to second moments later on a groundout. That is when the two-out hit parade began, as Matt Arburr singled up the middle and Kozma scored from second thanks to a headfirst slide at the plate that tied the score. Rivera kept the rally alive with a base hit to center, and Pham put Quad Cities in front by slapping a stand-up, two-run triple down the right field line. After a pitching change chased Armstrong from the game, Paul Vazquez added an RBI-double to cap the rally and give the River Bandits a 5-2 lead.

That made a winner out of Blake King (2-5), who struck out four over two perfect innings to lead a tremendous bullpen effort. Wayne Daman and Matt Spade also chipped in with one perfect inning of relief each, while Pete Parise (5) worked around a leadoff error in the ninth to set down three men in a row and earn the save.

Armstrong (0-2) took the loss for Cedar Rapids, recording just two outs while allowing all four eighth-inning runs. That spoiled a strong start from Trevor Bell, who held Quad Cities to one run over seven innings and left the game with the lead.

Early on, a pair of swings by Kernels' first baseman Efren Navarro put Cedar Rapids ahead. His RBI-double in the first inning was the second of consecutive two-out doubles, while his sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the third made it a 2-0 ballgame.

After a number of rallies for the road team proved fruitless, the River Bandits finally cracked the scoreboard in the seventh. Rivera led off the frame with his second double of the game and Pham singled him to third. One out later Domnit Bolivar drove a sacrifice fly to right-center that brought home Rivera to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Quad Cities starter Nick Additon did not figure into the decision, but saw his stellar scoreless innings streak end on Navarro's first-inning double. Additon's scoreless innings streak reached 31.2 frames and stands as the longest in all of Minor League Baseball this season. During the stretch, which began on May 10 and included seven scoreless outings in a row, Additon racked up 29 strikeouts while allowing just 12 hits.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits open the second half of the season with a four-game series in Cedar Rapids over the weekend before returning to Modern Woodmen Park on Monday to host the Kane County Cougars. The homestand opener will also be Modern Woodmen Night, featuring a stadium replica giveaway for the first 4,000 families and a Rascal bobblehead doll for the first 1,500 kids. A Summer Camp Day follows with a special 1:00 p.m. start on a Two-for-Tuesday, while Wednesday will be Survivor Night as well as a Wacky WINS-Day. The series concludes with a Thirst-day Thursday, featuring a FREE diamond for one lucky lady thanks to the Quad-City Times diamond dig! 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

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Midwest League Stories from June 19, 2008


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