MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Swing Fall To Dragons, Lose Series

Published on April 20, 2007 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


One night after snapping the Dayton Dragons' year-opening, nine-game winning streak, the Swing of the Quad Cities fell to the Dragons on Friday night, 9-5, at Fifth Third Field. Jared Schweitzer belted his first professional home run in the third inning and Omar Falcon went deep in the eighth, but the Swing lost the game and the series, three games to one.

Quad Cities (7-8) failed to earn the series split after routing the Dragons, 15-4, on Thursday, and will continue their road trip in Fort Wayne on Saturday. Dayton (10-1) was led all series long by shortstop Chris Valaika, who picked up four more hits Friday night and went a blistering 10-for-16 in the series.

Sean Watson (2-0) picked up the win for the Dragons, racking up 10 strikeouts while walking just one in five innings of work. The 2006 second-rounder allowed two runs on four hits.

Quad Cities fell behind early, as Dayton rallied with two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the first. Valaika got it started with a single to right and scored when Juan Francisco belted a double to the wall in center field. After an error allowed the inning to continue, Logan Parker sent a broken-bat flare into left-center that touched down for a base hit, scoring Francisco for the 2-0 lead.

Leading off the top of the third, Schweitzer got the Swing on the board with his first professional home run. After working the count full, the Kansas-product turned on a pitch and belted a solo shot down the left field line, clearing the wall inside the foul poll. Schweitzer's first home run in his 55th game as a pro made it a 2-1 ballgame.

The score was 3-1 heading into the fourth when Omar Falcon was hit by a pitch with one out. Mark Shorey followed with a bouncing ball single through the right side, and with two outs Jaime Landin plated Falcon with a groundball single up the middle to pull to within one run. After an infield single loaded the bases, though, Daryl Jones went down swinging to end the threat.

Unfortunately for the Swing, that 3-2 score was as close as they would get.

After Drew Stubbs homered in the fourth to make it 4-2, Dayton blew the game wide open in the bottom of the seventh. Consecutive singles opened the inning, and Valaika followed by stroking a double down the right field line that drove home both runners. Two outs later there were a pair on the bases when Jason Louswma stepped to the dish. Louwsma, who pitched the ninth-inning on Thursday night after the Swing burned through the Dragons' bullpen, responded by slugging a three-run homer to left that capped a five-run inning and pushed the score to 9-2.

Quad Cities got three runs back in the eighth, but it was too little too late. Jim Rapoport led off the frame with a double into the left field corner, and with one out Brandon Buckman pulled a two-base hit of his own down the line in right to drive in a run. Falcon followed by blasting the first pitch he saw out of the park to center, bouncing it off the batter's eye for his second home run of the year and cementing the 9-5 final.

Elvis Hernandez (2-1) took the loss for the Swing, as the 21-year-old Dominican was roughed up for four runs - three earned - on seven hits over four innings. Tandem starter P.J. Walters also struggled in relief, following up a perfect sixth inning by allowing five runs and recording just two outs in the seventh.

Armando Carrasco and Kyle Mura both pitched well out of the bullpen, combining to record four strikeouts over 2.1 scoreless innings.

TICKETS: Tickets for all events at John O'Donnell Stadium can be purchased by calling the Swing of the Quad Cities ticket office at (563) 328-2000, coming to the box office located at the stadium along South Gaines Street, or by logging on to www.swingbaseball.com.

UP NEXT: The Swing are in the midst of a 12-game, 13-day road trip that continues with stops in Fort Wayne and Burlington. All Swing games can be heard on The Truth AM-1270, with the pre-game show starting 15 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. The Swing return to John O'Donnell Stadium for a six-game homestand that kicks off on April 28 against Burlington.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: The Swing will be back in the Quad Cities for a six-game homestand beginning on April 28!!! The 2007 season is loaded with fun at John O'Donnell Stadium, and each day of the week will feature its own exciting promotion:

Monday - Kids under the age of 12 will receive a hot dog and small soda with the purchase of a child's GA ticket!

Tuesday - Get four box seat tickets, four slices of pizza, four sodas, and a Swing program for just $44!

Wednesday - Join us for lunch as we bring back daytime baseball! $11 will get you a hot dog, soda, and box seat.

Thursday - Enjoy half-price 12 oz. beverages with Dave and Darren thanks to the Bent River Brewing Company.

Friday - Most Friday night of the 2007 season will feature a dazzling fireworks display sponsored by KWQC.

Saturday - Be one of the first fans through the gates on select Saturdays and receive a special giveaway item.

Sunday - Bring the whole family out for an afternoon featuring clowns, balloons, and games. Stick around after the game and kids can run the bases just like the pros do!

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Midwest League Stories from April 20, 2007


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