PEORIA, ILLINOIS (June 6, 2019) — It is not often that a baseball team registers a walk-off win in their opponents’ ballpark, but that is exactly what the Quad Cities River Bandits did to the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday night at Dozer Park. Serving as the home-team because the games were moved due to flooding in Davenport, David Hensley snapped a scoreless-tie with an RBI double into the gap in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the River Bandits to a 1-0 victory. The Bandits pitching staff allowed just one hit in the game.
The shutout win was the tenth of the season for the River Bandits (36-20), giving them one more than Peoria for the league-lead. Starting-pitcher Cody Deason did not factor in the decision despite tossing 7.0 scoreless innings on the mound. The only hit he surrendered came on a bunt-single to open the game by the Chiefs (26-32) Brendan Donovan. Felipe Tejada earned the win by tossing the final 2.0 innings. Deason and Tejada combined to retire the final 22 hitters they faced in the game.
The bottom of the ninth began with Ruben Castro working a walk and the catcher was on the move when Hensley found the gap. Castro crossed the plate without a throw to spark a celebration on the left-side of the infield. Quad Cities had only four hits of their own on the night. Hensley was responsible for two of them, including the game-winner.
The River Bandits return to their home ballpark to open a four-game series with the Kane County Cougars on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6:35PM. RHP R.J. Freure (3-1, 3.28) gets the start on the mound for the River Bandits against Kane County RHP Matt Tabor (1-1, 2.63). The River Bandits will wear special disability awareness jerseys with those jerseys being auctioned to benefit Scott County Special Olympics. There will also be a pint glass giveaway and fireworks following the game.
Peoria (R-H-E): 0-1-1
Quad Cities (R-H-E): 1-4-1
Win: Tejada (1-0)
Loss: Pacheco (0-2)
Save: None
HR: Peoria: None
HR: Quad Cities: None
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
