FORT WAYNE, INDIANA — The Quad Cities River Bandits set new season-highs in runs and hits as they led from start to finish in a 10-3 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Saturday night at Parkview Field. The River Bandits have won five consecutive games and taken sole possession of first-place in the Midwest League’s Western Division.
The River Bandits jumped ahead in the very first inning. Jeremy Pena reached on a throwing-error by third-baseman Tucupita Marcano to open the game. Enmanuel Valdez followed by grounding a base-hit through the left-side that put two on base with no outs. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring-position, which paid off when Jonathan Lacroix hit a fly-ball to left-field. Pena tagged and scored to give the River Bandits a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, the Bandits did more damage with a pair of home-run balls. Catcher Cesar Salazar opened the frame with a first-pitch home-run off of Angel Acevedo. Later in the frame, after an Austin Dennis walk, Ross Adolph connected on a two-run shot to double the advantage to 4-0.
A two-run double by Lee Solomon in the bottom of the second inning allowed Fort Wayne to cut the lead in half, but the Bandits answered immediately in the top of the third. Scott Schreiber did all the work by himself. He singled, stole second base, and advanced to third when the throw from the catcher sailed into center-field. When David Hensley struck out on a pitch in the dirt for the second out, Schreiber waited until Juan Fernandez threw to first and raced home to push the lead to 5-2.
Lee drove in another run to close the gap to two runs once again in the Fort Wayne fourth inning. However, from that point forward, Quad Cities took control. Schreiber doubled home a run in the fifth and raced around to score on Lacroix’s ensuing RBI single to push the margin to 7-3.
The Bandits built on their lead in both the sixth and seventh frames. In the sixth, Dennis followed a Salazar double with an RBI single. In the seventh, Lacroix plated Schreiber once again with a run-scoring single and then was allowed to touch home-plate after Fort Wayne pitcher Jonathan Guzman committed a balk with him standing at third.
Both Schreiber and Lacroix collected three hits in the game to pace all hitters. Lacroix added a season-high three runs batted in. Seven of the nine Bandits in the lineup tallied at least one hit and six registered multiple hits.
Cody Deason earned his first win of the season by tossing 5.0 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. Reliever RJ Freure picked up a save by working the final 4.0 innings without allowing a run. The two right-hander combined to strike out 13 Fort Wayne hitters.
The River Bandits and Tincaps finish off their lone meeting of the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 12:05PM. The Bandits starting pitcher is set to be RHP Brett Daniels (1-2, 6.28). Fort Wayne has not named their starter at this time.
Quad Cities (R-H-E): 10-15-0
Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 3-9-3
Win: Deason (1-1)
Loss: Acevedo (0-4)
Save: Freure (2)
HR: Quad Cities: Cesar Salazar (2, 2nd inning, 0 on base), Ross Adolph (2, 2nd inning, 1 on base)
HR: Fort Wayne: None
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
