DAVENPORT, IOWA (May 17, 2021) — With the series already in hand, the Quad Cities River Bandits snagged the series finale from the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-2 on Sunday, May 16, to earn their fifth win in six days at Modern Woodmen Park.
Starting pitching dominated the first third of the contest as Angel Zerpa and Andrew Cabezas combined to allow just three base-runners while striking out eight before Gabe Snyder finally broke the scoreless tie with a solo home-run in the top of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead.
Cabezas had set down 12 straight Bandits’ hitters through four when Vinnie Pasquantino launched his fourth blast of the year, a solo shot that ended a perfect game and knotted the score at 1-1.
As both teams turned to their bullpens in the sixth, it was the Kernels who added the next tally on Michael Helman’s RBI single off of Mitch Ellis.
In the next half-frame, Pasquantino lifted what appeared to be a sacrifice-fly off of Jon Olsen before Jeison Guzman got caught in between third and home. With Nick Loftin also dancing to avoid danger between second and third, the former Baylor Bear drew a throw towards second base, allowing Guzman enough time to break for home and slide in safely under the high throw and re-tie the game.
After Jonah Dipoto and Olsen threw scoreless seventh innings. Quad Cities took the lead on a wild pitch as Michael Massey took home and the 3-2 lead.
In the top of the ninth, Dipoto built upon his hot start and set down Cedar Rapids 1-2-3 including three strikeouts to secure his team’s victory.
Dipoto (1-0) earned the win after three innings of scoreless, hitless baseball, while Olsen (0-1) took the loss for the Kernels who fell to .500 on the early season.
Quad Cities will take the day off on Monday before hitting the road on Tuesday for their longest road-trip of the season with stops in Peoria and Dayton to round out the month of May.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: The 2021 season marks the River Bandits’ first year as a new Advanced-A major-league affiliate. As such, the team will be offering higher-quality baseball than has ever before been played in the Quad Cities. Additionally, the Bandits will welcome a new MLB affiliate to the Quad Cities, the Kansas City Royals. The River Bandits anchor the Quad Cities sports-market, which The Sports Business Journal named the top minor-league sports-market in the country in 2015 and second-best minor-league market in its 2017 follow-up ranking. In 2015, 2017, and again in 2019, the River Bandits earned Ballpark Digest’s award for “Best Charitable Works” in Minor League Baseball, the only club to win that coveted award three times. For more information, visit www.riverbandits.com or contact General Manager Joe Kubly at (563) 333-2768.
