EASTLAKE, OHIO (April 30, 2019) — The Quad Cities River Bandits used a pair of home-runs to build a big cushion and then managed to hold off a late push by the Lake County Captains in a 6-5 victory Tuesday night. The game was played in front of 1,063 fans at Classic Park.
The River Bandits jumped out of the gate quickly. Alex McKenna was hit by a pitch to open the game in his first at-bat following his activation from the injured list. Enmanuel Valdez followed with a single through the right side and Jeremy Pena walked to load the bases. The next two hitters, Jonathan Lacroix and Scott Schreiber, each hit ground-balls to the right side that plated runs. As a result, the Bandits led 2-0 after one inning.
Quad Cities was retired in order in the second, but put up another crooked number in the third. Lake County starter Shane McCarthy struck out the first two-hitters of the inning, but Pena kept the frame alive with a single up the middle. Lacroix reached base on a four-pitch walk, setting the stage for Schreiber again. The first-baseman lined an opposite-field three-run home-run that just cleared the right-field wall to put the Bandits ahead 5-0. The long-ball was Schreiber’s second of the season.
The lead grew to 6-0 on the strength of another home-run. Lake County brought on reliever Eli Lingos to work the sixth inning. Cesar Salazar greeted him with a first-pitch home-run to right to extend the advantage.
That lead remained in place until the bottom of the seventh inning. An error allowed Lake County to put their lead-off hitter on base in the frame. Jesse Berardi followed with a double and the rally was started. Jonathan Bermudez and Devin Conn combined to walk the next four hitters consecutively, closing the gap to 6-3. Miguel Jerez pulled the Captains even closer with his two-RBI double down the third-base line, and suddenly it was 6-5. Conn induced a double-play from Bo Naylor to end the inning with the Bandits clinging to the lead. He would also work a scoreless eight before Riley Cabral closed out the game in the ninth.
Starting-pitcher Austin Hansen earned the victory by tossing 5.0 scoreless innings and striking out four. He scattered three hits and walked a pair.
Schreiber finished with four runs batted in, matching the highest total for a Bandits player this season. Valdez led all players with three hits in the game. Lacroix, who went 2-4 with an RBI, was the only other player with multiple hits.
The River Bandits and Captains will continue their series with the second game on Wednesday night at 5:30PM. RHP R.J. Freure (1-0, 0.63) will make his first start of the season for the Bandits. The Captains will turn to RHP Alex Royalty (0-1, 5.79).
Quad Cities (R-H-E): 6-10-1
Lake County (R-H-E): 5-5-0
Win: Hansen (3-1)
Loss: McCarthy (2-2)
Save: Cabral (2)
HR: Quad Cities: Scott Schreiber (2, 3rd inning, 2 on base), Cesar Salazar (1, 6th inning, 0 on base)
HR: Lake County: None
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
