MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Swing hit on all cylinders in 7-1 win

Published on August 25, 2006 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Trey Hearne twirled eight strong innings and got plenty of offensive support Friday night as the Swing of the Quad Cities took a first-inning lead and never looked back in a 7-1 win over the Peoria Chiefs at O'Brien Field. Bryan Anderson, Jon Jay, and Casey Rowlett carried the load offensively, combining to go 10-for-13 with four runs scored and all six runs batted in.

Quad Cities (35-24, 69-58) remains a half-game out of first place with the win while dropping their magic number to two, a number that could fall to one if Cedar Rapids loses their game to Beloit. Peoria (29-31, 70-59) missed out on their chance to get back to .500 in the second half, though they clinched a playoff berth by winning the Western Division during the first half of the season.

Hearne (12-3) picked up his team-leading 12th win with a strong eight-inning performance, scattering eight hits and carrying a shutout 7.2 frames deep into the ballgame. The only blemish on his night was a two-out solo home run off the bat of Robinson Chirinos in the eighth that broke up the shutout. The right-hander struck out six while walking one before giving way to Scott Vander Weg, who fanned two in a perfect ninth inning to wrap things up.

Quad Cities went right to work in the top of the first inning. After Rowlett reached base on a one-out single, Jay's opposite-field double to the warning track in left-center brought him home for the game's first run. Jay was at third base with two outs when Anderson added to the lead, driving a clean single to center to give the Swing a quick 2-0 advantage.

In the fourth inning, they doubled the lead. C.J. Smith and Daniel Nelson each drew one-out walks, and when Ryan Norwood was charged with a throwing error on a ball hit by Chad Gabriel, Smith came around to score. Later in the frame Rowlett chipped in with a two-out base hit that plated Nelson, and Quad Cities was off to a 4-0 lead.

One inning later, Bryan Anderson kept it rolling. The 19-year-old catcher had already established a career-best with a first-inning single that extended his hitting streak to eight games, a stretch in which he has hit .406. Leading off the top of the fifth, the Swing catcher drove a solo home run the other way that cleared the wall in left for his third homer of the season and a 5-0 lead.

The Swing capped the scoring with two more runs in the top of the eighth. The rally started with two away, as Shane Robinson singled and moved to second on a balk. Rowlett followed with his fourth hit of the night, a double to left field that allowed the runner to score easily. One batter later Jay stroked a single to right-center, scoring Rowlett for the decisive 7-1 margin.

The loss went to Todd Blackford (9-9), whose troubles continued after allowing five runs - three earned - on seven hits in five innings of work. He walked four while striking out one and giving up the longball to Anderson in the fifth. Over his last nine starts Blackford is 1-7 with a 9.98 ERA.

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Midwest League Stories from August 25, 2006


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