MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

River Bandits Steal Win From Loons

July 25, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


BURLINGTON, IA - Jarred Bogany twice played the hero for the Quad Cities River Bandits as they defeated the Great Lakes Loons, 5-4, in 11 innings in the opener of a three-game series at Modern Woodmen Park on Saturday night. Bogany hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field for the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning off Loons reliever Luis Garcia after plating the tying run to force extra innings in the ninth inning.

The Loons were one strike away from winning the game in regulation, but a series of miscues in the ninth inning and Bogany's first big hit pushed across the tying run for Quad Cities. Jason Stidham reached base on an error by Dee Gordon with one out, and after a pop out for the second out, pinch runner Travis Mitchell stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch. Bogany then lined a two-strike pitch up the middle for a base hit to plate Mitchell and extend the ballgame.

Another error in the 11th inning augured the River Bandits winning rally. After a single and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs, Travis Mitchell was asked to sacrifice the runners up a base. He popped up his bunt to Anthony Hatch for the first out of the inning, but Hatch threw wildly to first trying for a double play and the runners scooted to second and third anyway. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Bogany's sac fly won the game. Both the tying and winning runs for Quad Cities were unearned runs because of the Loons' two costly errors.

Great Lakes twice held one-run leads after falling behind early. Jon Edwards hit a two-run homer off Loons starter Bobby Blevins in the second inning to give Quad Cities a 2-0 edge through two innings.

The Loons managed a single run in the fourth with a two-out rally started by Matt Wallach. Wallach singled to right field, moved to third on a double by Alfredo Silverio, and scored on a wild pitch by River Bandits starter Jorge Rondon to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Kyle Russell gave the Loons the lead for the first time with a two-out, two-run home run to left centerfield in the bottom of the fifth inning off Rondon. His Midwest League-leading 23rd long ball of the year was his second in as many nights after going 10 games without a dinger prior to last night.

The lead evaporated immediately in the bottom of the fifth when Jack Cawley led off with his first homer of the season, a solo shot to left field that tied the game at 3-3.

Dee Gordon gave the Loons the lead for the second time in the top of the seventh inning. He lined a one-out triple down the right field line, then sped home on a groundout to first off the bat of Jaime Pedroza. River Bandits' first baseman Osvaldo Morales bobbled the ball just briefly, but it was enough to allow Gordon to scamper to the plate with the go-ahead run.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Blevins worked seven innings and allowed three runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts, his team-leading ninth quality start of the year. Rondon pitched five innings and gave up three runs on eight hits.

Dave Carpenter got the win for Quad Cities, pitching two scoreless innings to improve to 5-3 on the year. Ramon Delgado kept the Loons scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings to give his offense a chance to erase the one-run deficit. Overall, the River Bandits three relievers combined to hold the Loons to only one on two hits in six innings of work.

Garcia (5-2) was the hard-luck loser for Great Lakes despite not allowing an earned run in his 2.2 innings of work. Jordan Pratt pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Loons.

The Loons and River Bandits continue their series with a rare Sunday night game. Righty Justin Miller (5-6, 4.53) starts for Great Lakes against Quad Cities' right-hander Arquimedes Nieto (1-9, 4.50) in the 7:00 p.m. contest at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport, Iowa. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 100.9-FM and worldwide on Loons.com.

The Great Lakes Loons are the third-year Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and members of the Midwest League. For more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.

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Midwest League Stories from July 25, 2009


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