River Bandits Tip Lugnuts, 4-3
Published on April 23, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release
DAVENPORT, Ia. - First baseman Jose Cerice hung on tight to a low throw from catcher Blake Mitchell, and the Quad Cities River Bandits (8-7) hung on tight to a 4-3 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (6-11) on Thursday night at Modern Woodmen Park.
A Derlin Figueroa RBI double in a two-run second inning and an Austin Charles two-run double in the fifth had given Quad Cities a 4-1 lead, and then it was white knuckle time in a series of tight plays at first base.
In the sixth inning, Bobby Boser was hit by a pitch and moved up to third on two straight wild pitches. But third baseman Figueroa made a difficult scoop of a sizzling two-out Davis Diaz grounder and threw to first in time, stranding Boser at third.
In the seventh, Carlos Franco drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the lead to 4-2. But Rodney Green, Jr. grounded into a double play to end the rally, a play that ended with Green diving head first across first base in a photo finish with the throw.
In the eighth, Diaz walked and Devin Taylor singled to put the tying runs on with two outs. But Nate Nankil bounced to third, where Figueroa grabbed an in-between hop and threw flat-footed to first. The throw was wide of the bag, needing Cerice to jump down the line to receive it and tag Nankil, ending the inning.
And in the ninth, after manager Javier Godard was ejected by home plate umpire John Miller for offering his observation of Miller's balls and strikes calls, the Lugnuts trimmed the lead to one run on a Boser sacrifice fly. With two outs, pinch-runner Justin Riemer at third and Green at first, Casey Yamauchi sent a wiggler up the first-base line. Catcher Mitchell scrambled to pick it up and dirted his throw - but a lunging Cerice caught it on his knees while keeping a foot on the bag, ending the game.
In the loss, both Taylor and Nankil went 2-for-4 while Boser was hit by a pitch to extend his on-base streak to 16 games.
Right-hander Zane Taylor starts the fourth of the six-game series on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EDT / 6:30 p.m. CDT.
The Nuts return home from April 28-May 3 to host the Dayton Dragons. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.
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