MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Swing drop heartbreaker in ten innings

August 19, 2004 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Perkins strikes out eight in seven innings; Span manages three hits as Swing lose fifth straight

Luke Carlin's groundball single to right scored Jordan Pickens from second with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning on Thursday night as the Fort Wayne Wizards upended the Swing of the Quad Cities, 2-1, at Memorial Stadium. The loss was the fifth straight for the Swing, who remain in fifth place and only one game out of a playoff spot in the MWL-West.

Fort Wayne closer Leo Rosales sent the Swing down 1-2-3 in the top of the tenth, and Pickens drew a walk against Julio DePaula to open the bottom of the frame. After a sacrifice bunt moved Pickens to scoring position, Carlin's single trickled into right. Scott Whitrock's throw to the plate was in time but just up the first base line, and Pickens dived in with a headfirst slide to score the winning run.

The loss was DePaula's first since the All-Star break, and his sixth of the season. The Swing dropped to 5-8 in extra-inning games on the season, although they had won their only two extended games of the second half.

The Swing broke through in a scoreless game in the top of the sixth inning. Scott Whitrock stroked a double into right, and moved to third when Paul Rutgers dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Alex Garcia's groundball towards short put the Swing up, 1-0.

But the Wizards were able to tie it up in the bottom of the seventh inning when, with one away, Jordan Pickens drilled a solo homer to left field. It Pickens' 16th long ball of the season, including his third in six games against the Swing on the year.

Perkins set a career-high by working seven innings for the Swing. The lefthander struck out eight and did not walk a man for Quad Cities. In 32.1 innings over six starts with Quad Cities, the 2004 first-round pick has struck out 35 while walking six.

Jay Sawatski followed Perkins with two very strong innings, in which he did not allow a base hit. Sawatski walked the first man he faced in the eighth inning but, after a sacrifice bunt, coaxed consecutive popouts to end any Wizards threat.

UP NEXT: The Swing and Wizards close out their four-game series on Friday night, when the Swing send Scott Tyler (5-3, 2.82) to the mound against Vern Sterry (0-0, 2.70). First pitch is scheduled for 7:00, and coverage on Great Country 105 will begin at 6:45.

NEXT HOME GAME: The Swing return to John O'Donnell Stadium on Saturday, August 21, to take on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Swing will be giving away lunch boxes, courtesy of Hy-Vee, Mediacom and Mix 96. Tickets are available for all Swing games by calling (563) 328-2000, or by logging onto www.swingbaseball.com.

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics



Midwest League Stories from August 19, 2004


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