MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Wilson, River Bandits finish off Chiefs to take series

Published on May 15, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


The Quad Cities River Bandits picked their spots wisely on Thursday night at O'Brien Field, recording just two hits but receiving a strong pitching performance in a 3-1 win over the Peoria Chiefs.

Quad Cities (20-17) has now won four of their last five games after a rough 1-6 start to the month of May, winning three of four against the Chiefs to take a road series for just the second time in six tries this season. Peoria (14-26) mustered just five hits against River Bandits' hurlers Josh Wilson and Brian Broderick, spoiling a fine effort by their pitching staff.

Neither team had registered a base hit until the bottom of the third inning, when Peoria's Cliff Andersen stepped to the plate with two outs. The Chiefs' leadoff hitter took a 1-2 pitch and blasted it the other way, giving the home team a 1-0 lead with his third homer of the year.

After Peoria starter Hung-Wen Chen sailed through the early part of the game with three perfect innings, though, the River Bandits were able to get to him the second time through the order.

Tommy Pham and Pete Kozma opened the top of the fourth with quality at-bats, as the top two hitters in the lineup each worked the count full and fouled off a series of pitches before drawing walks. Charlie Kingrey then walked on four straight pitches to load the bases with nobody out, and Andrew Brown delivered with a two-run double that split the gap in left-center. Two pitches later Matt Arburr added an RBI-groundout, and Quad Cities jumped out in front by a 3-1 score that held up thanks to Wilson and Broderick.

Wilson (1-0) turned in a strong outing to earn the win for Quad Cities in just his first start and second appearance since joining the club from Extended Spring Training on May 5. The Cardinals' second-round pick in the 2005 draft held the Chiefs to just one run on three hits over five innings of work, stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth to preserve the River Bandits' lead and qualify for the win. It was his first victory since June 24, 2007, when he knocked off the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in one of three appearances during an injury-riddled season as a member of the New York-Penn League's Batavia Muckdogs.

Broderick (2) picked up where Wilson left off, allowing only two hits over four shutout innings the rest of the way. He struck out two and faced just one batter more than the minimum to earn the save.

Chen (0-2) took the loss despite striking out five and allowing one hit over five solid innings, as three walks led to three runs in the fourth to do him in.

UP NEXT: The River Bandits are in the midst of a seven-game commuter trip that winds down over the weekend with a three-game series in Burlington starting Friday. Quad Cities will return to Davenport to welcome in Ryne Sandberg and the Peoria Chiefs on Monday, May 19, for Make-a-Wish Night and Indiana Jones Night. The series will continue with a Two-for-Tuesday and then an autographed baseball giveaway on Wednesday before Bad Fad Night hits the Quad Cities on a Thirst-day Thursday. Merchandise featuring the new team name and logo is currently available by visiting the Modern Woodmen Park team store, and season ticket packages, mini-packages, and the popular You-Pick-10 Plan are on sale at the park or by calling (563) 3-BANDITS!

Check out the Quad Cities River Bandits Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from May 15, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central