CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (September 2, 2021)  After suffering a ten-run loss in Game One of the series, the Quad Cities River Bandits evened up the series at one game apiece, topping the Cedar Rapids Kernels 4-0 at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium behind Christian Cosby’s career-high six-inning shut-out performance.

As was the case in Tuesday’s contest, pitching owned the beginning of the game and saw Cosby and Kernels’ starter Sawyer Gipson-Long combine to retire the 21 of the game’s first 22 batters with Cosby stranding Edouard Julien's lead-off single in the fourth.

Quad Cities got its first base-runner in the top of the fifth, with Michael Massey walking to begin the frame. Gipson-Long then retired John Rave and Logan Porter with just three pitches, but then, his first offering to Nathan Eaton was sent over the left-field wall for a two-run blast and a 2-0 Quad Cities lead.

Cedar Rapids threatened to break into the run column with a Michael Helman’s lead-off double in the fifth, but Cosby retired the next three batters in order to retire the side.

The Bandits’ right-hander concluded his scoreless start with a one-two-three sixth before both teams’ bullpens took over in the seventh, where Will Klein worked a clean bottom-half.

The QC offense briefly came back to life against Denny Bentley in the top of the eighth as Eric Cole’s lead-off double was plated via Michael Massey’s RBI single to push the Bandits’ lead to 3-0.

After Klein worked a second perfect inning in the bottom of the eighth, it was Kasey Kalich who closed the game out and stranded Alex Isola’s two-out double in the bottom of the ninth.

Allowing just two hits over six innings and striking out six, Cosby (4-3) got the win for Quad Cities, while Gipson-Long (2-2), who only gave up two runs in six innings of his own, took the loss for Cedar Rapids.

The River Bandits will look to take the lead in the set tomorrow behind Dante Biasi (5-2, 3.67) who will start against Cedar Rapids’ Cody Laweryson (1-4, 4.75) at 6:35PM CDT.

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 informationvisit www.riverbandits.com or contact General Manager Joe Kubly at (563) 333-2768.

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