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MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Swing finish off Snappers in Beloit

June 1, 2006 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


McCormick snaps four-game skid as Swing take first four-game series of season

The Swing of the Quad Cities scored a first-inning run for the fourth time in as many games Thursday night, setting the tone for an 8-5 win over the Beloit Snappers at Pohlman Field. It was the first four-game series that the Swing have won all year long, returning the favor after the Snappers snagged three of four at John O'Donnell Stadium in a series on April 25-28.

Quad Cities (23-28) won their third consecutive game for only the second time this season, after previously accomplishing the feat with a three-game winning streak from April 11-13. After dropping both ends of a doubleheader on Wednesday, Beloit (25-27) has now lost nine of their last 12 games.

In each the first three games of the series Quad Cities was able to put at least one first-inning run on the board, and game four was no different. With one out Casey Rowlett dumped a single into center field, and Colby Rasmus followed with a perfectly laid down bunt on the grass along the third base line. A single into left from Randy Roth loaded the bases, and each runner continued their station-to-station movement along the basepaths when a high chopper from Bryan Anderson turned into a run-scoring infield single. With the bases still juiced, Jose Martinez sent a sacrifice fly into center field, scoring Rasmus for the early 2-0 lead.

The Swing continued to add to their advantage over the next two innings, plating single runs in the second and third. Ahead, 2-1, Luis Cotto looped a single into right-center to open the second frame, and came home with two outs when Rowlett's bouncer to the left side was misplayed by Steve Tolleson at third base. Quad Cities was at it again in the third inning. Roth led off the frame with a double, and trotted home two batters later when Martinez lined a two-base hit into the left field corner for a 4-1 advantage.

It was 4-2 in the fifth inning when Quad Cities took advantage of a series of Snappers miscues to add three more runs. After Anderson drew a walk Martinez reached on an error by Henry Sanchez at first. A.J. Van Slyke then scalded a ball right at Sanchez that again was not handled by the first baseman, scoring Anderson for a 5-1 lead. With men at second and third Simon Williams drove in Martinez with a groundout, and Van Slyke would cross the plate one batter later as the third Snappers error of the inning was committed by Tolleson. When the dust had settled the Swing picked up three more runs in the fifth without a hit, courtesy of three errors, one balk, and one passed ball to spot Quad Cities a 7-2 lead.

Beloit fought back with two home runs in the bottom of the sixth and a rally that loaded the bases with only one out in the ninth, but Brian Stitt came on to lock down the save with the final two outs of the game. Stitt picked up his fifth save of the year and second of the series after failing to convert his only such chance of the season in Monday's series opener.

Mark McCormick (2-4) earned the win to snap a personal four-game losing streak. After walking the first batter in each of his three previous starts, the flamethrower out of Baylor was on the right track after inducing a groundout from the first batter of Thursday night's contest. McCormick, the 43rd overall pick in the 2005 draft, struck out four and walked three while allowed two runs on four hits in five innings of work.

Oswaldo Sosa (3-5) was tagged with the loss, and has now lasted just four innings in each of his starts against Quad Cities this year. The Venezuelan righthander gave up four runs - three earned - on eight hits while striking out five and walking one.

Beloit manager Jeff Smith was ejected from the game following the bottom of the fifth inning as he argued the umpire's call on an inning-ending double play started by the Swing's Daniel Nelson.

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