Lansing, MI — Patrick Sandoval and Enoli Paredes combined to shut out the Lansing Lunguts in a 2-0 win for the Quad Cities River Bandits on Sunday afternoon at Cooley Law School Stadium. With the victory, the River Bandits finished a six-game road trip to the state of Michigan undefeated.
After four scoreless inning to open the contest, the River Bandits broke through in the top of the fifth. Jake Meyers led off with a double and came around to score on single into shallow center from Corey Julks. Julks quickly stole second base and was brought in on J.J. Matijevic’s second double of the game, a line drive into the gap in right center that reached the wall.
Those runs were enough as the pitching staff was nearly untouchable all game. Sandoval tossed 6.0 shutout innings, striking out seven and scattering three hits. Paredes followed with 3.0 scoreless frames during which he allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out one batter. The shutout was the second in the last four games for the River Bandits.
The Bandits ended the game with eight hits. Matijevic and Meyers each finished with two. Bryan De La Cruz finished the game 0-4 as his hit streak came to an end at 15 games.
The River Bandits (16-12) return home to open a six-game homestand against the Fort Wayne TinCaps (13-17) on Monday night at 6:35 p.m. RHP Cesar Rosado (2-1) will take the Modern Woodmen Park mound for Quad Cities against RHP Mason Thompson (2-3, 8.24) of Fort Wayne.
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
###Matijevic, Arauz Power River Bandits Past Lansing 9-2
Lansing, MI — J.J. Matijevic and Jonathan Arauz combined for six hits, two home runs, six runs batted in, and five runs scored as the Quad Cities River Bandits beat the Lansing Lugnuts 9-2 on Saturday night at Cooley School Stadium. Those offensive exploits, mixed with 15 combined strikeouts from left-handers Parker Mushinski and Adam Bleday, helped the River Bandits move into a second place tie in front of 3,918 fans.The game started with a bang when Matijevic launched a 2-0 fastball from Lugnuts starter Yennsy Diaz over the batter’s eye in center field for a solo home run. The outfielder had been activated from the disabled list earlier in the day after missing two weeks of action. Later in the inning, Bryan De La Cruz scored Arauz from third base with a sacrifice fly to open up a 2-0 lead.
Jake Meyers walked to open the third inning and then moved to third on a Matijevic single, leaving runners on the corners for Arauz. The 19-year old second baseman took advantage by slugging a three-run home run to right field that extended the lead to 5-0. The home run was Arauz’s fourth in his last seven games.
The River Bandits made it 8-0 in the fourth inning. With two on and no outs, Meyers split the gap in right center with a triple to score both runners. He crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Arauz two batters later.
Lansing reached the scoreboard on an RBI double from Kevin Smith in the bottom of the fourth, but Quad Cities pushed the lead to eight once again with back-to-back doubles from Matijevic and Arauz in the eighth inning. Arauz finished 3-3 with a double, home run, and a season-high five RBI. The Lugnuts scored the final run of the game on Christian Williams’ RBI double in the home half of the eighth.
Mushinski earned the win by tossing 5.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits, and recording eight strikeouts. Bleday followed by striking out seven over 2.2 innings. He allowed one run on a walk and a pair of hits. Cole Watts worked a scoreless ninth inning with help from a diving catch in center field from Meyers that ended the game. The 15 combined strikeouts matched the season-high for a nine-inning contest.
The River Bandits concluded the game with 13 hits. This was their fourth game during the road trip with at least 10 hits. Eight of the nine hitters in the lineup came up with at least one. Matijevic joined Arauz with three hits, going 3-4 with a double, home run, one RBI, and three runs scored.
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River Bandits Stave off Lansing Comeback, Win 8-7
Lansing, MI — The Quad Cities River Bandits opened up an 8-1 lead over the Lansing Lugnuts after three innings on Friday night and then held on down the stretch to escape with an 8-7 victory in front of 8,556 fans at Cooley Law School Stadium. The win was the fourth in a row for the River Bandits and assured them of a winning record on the current six-game road trip.
The River Bandits came out of the gates swinging in the first inning against Lansing starting pitcher Colton Laws. With one out, Jonathan Arauz and Michael Papierski launched back-to-back home runs to jump ahead by a 2-0 score. The long ball was the third of the year for Arauz and the first for Papierski. These were the first back-to-back home runs for River Bandits players since the series-clinching victory over Peoria in the playoffs on September 8, 2017. After a two-out single from Jake Adams, Adrian Tovalin scored him with a double into the left field corner. Before the inning ended, Marcos Almonte tacked on a run-scoring single to make it 4-0.
Kacy Clemens hit a solo home run to pull Lansing within 4-1 in the bottom of the first before the River Bandits answered back. A walk to Arauz and consecutive base hits from Papierski and Bryan De La Cruz allowed another run to score and the lead to increase to 5-1. The hit from De La Cruz extended his hitting streak to a season-best 14 games.
The lead margin grew to 8-1 after a big third inning. Tovalin walked to open the frame and then three run-scoring hits came later in the inning courtesy of Colton Shaver, Corey Julks, and Arauz.
The Bandits could not score the rest of the way and watched Lansing inch closer throughout the remaining six innings. Christian Williams drove in a run with a double in the bottom of the third inning, Norberto Obeso hit a solo home run in the fourth, and the Lugnuts scored two unearned runs on a throwing error by Shaver in the fifth to close the gap to 8-5.
The Lugnuts pulled even closer on Samad Taylor’s solo home run to open the eighth inning. Obeso worked a walk in the next at bat and then raced to third on an ensuing single by Chavez Young. However, Young was thrown out trying to advance to second on the throw in from right field for the first out of the inning. Obeso scored on Kevin Vicuna’s groundout to short, moving Lansing within a single run. Following a two out single by Clemens, Tanner Duncan entered the game from the bullpen and retired Kevin Smith on a fly ball to right field. Duncan retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his third save.
The teams combined for 13 extra-base hits, with eight belonging to the Lugnuts. The River Bandits finished with a season-high 14 hits in the game. Eight of the players in the lineup came up with at least one, including five players who notched multiple hits. Shaver led the team with three.
Cristian Javier, the Bandits starter, worked 4.0 innings and surrendered three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out five. Cole Watts departed without recording an out after allowing two hits and two unearned runs. Luis Garcia followed with 3.2 innings during which he allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Duncan retired all four hitters he faced with two punch outs.
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Bandits Record First Shutout, Lock Down Loons 5-0
Midland, MI — The Quad Cities River Bandits put together their first shutout of the season to beat the Great Lakes Loons 5-0 on Thursday night at Dow Diamond. The River Bandits won all three games in the series to complete their first sweep of the year.
The River Bandits did the first damage, getting on the board with a couple of sacrifice flies in the fourth. Michael Papierski led off the inning with a base hit into right field. Bryan De La Cruz extended his hitting streak to 13 games and moved Papierski to third base with his double down the left field line. Jake Adams hit a fly ball into shallow right field, but Papierski managed to tag up and score by leaping over the attempted tag of catcher Ramon Rodriguez. After Adrian Tovalin walked, Marcos Almonte lifted a sacrifice fly of his own to plate De La Cruz and make it 2-0.
The lead remained at two runs until the seventh. Almonte opened the frame by drawing a walk and Colton Shaver followed with a two-run home run off the foul pole in right field to double the advantage at 4-0. The long ball was his first of the season. Later in the frame, Corey Julks singled and stole second base to move into scoring position. Jonathan Arauz beat out an infield single to the right side and moved to second on a throwing error that also allowed Julks to score and the lead to grow to 5-0.
Those five runs were plenty for a pitching staff that was stellar all night. Yohan Ramirez picked up the win by tossing 5.0 scoreless frames, scattering three hits and striking out six while walking three. He was relieved by Peter Solomon who worked 3.0 innings without allowing a hit, walking one and fanning three. Robert Corniel retired the side in order in the ninth and struck out a pair.
The River Bandits compiled eight hits in the game. Arauz and Julks paced the team with two each. The team is 8-2 over the last 10 games.
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