River Bandits Homestand Preview: April 27-29 (vs Cedar Rapids)
**Game and Radio Broadcast Schedule**- Friday, April 27 – Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins) 6:35 p.m.
- Saturday, April 28 – Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins) 1:15 p.m.
- DOUBLEHEADER. Game 1 starts at 1:15 p.m. Game 2 starts about 30 minutes after the completion of the first game.
- Sunday, April 29 – Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins) 1:15 p.m.
All games are broadcast on KBOB 1170 AM and streamed via the River Bandits website at www.riverbandits.com. Broadcasts are also available via the TuneIn app. Additionally, all home games stream live with video on MiLB.tv.
Jason Kempf and Logan Ratick (each in their first seasons with the River Bandits) will handle the broadcasts for all 140 regular season games. Pregame programming will begin 20 minutes prior to the scheduled first pitch time.
**Entertainment Highlights**
- Friday, April 27
o Post-Game Fireworks presented by Smart Toyota of the Quad Cities
o Championship Pint Glass Giveaway presented by Crawford & Company
o National Anthem presented by Window World of Davenport performed by Mackenzie Holmes-Boos
- Saturday, April 28 (Doubleheader)
o 2017 Midwest League Championship Flag Giveaway
o National Anthem presented by Window World of Davenport performed by Gary Schocker
- Sunday, April 29
- Pregame Player Autographs
- Bark in the Park presented by Prairie Farms
- National Anthem presented by Window World of Davenport performed by Samantha Gilliland
- The River Bandits return home after playing nine consecutive games on the road: five games in Burlington and four games in Kane County.
- Friday will be Quad Cities’ first home game since Thursday, April 19.
- Entering play on Thursday, the River Bandits pitching staff has struck out the most opposing batters (195) in the league through their first 17 games of the season.
- Infielder Jonathan Arauz has already stolen a career-high three bases this season.
- Tanner Duncan is the newest pitcher on the active roster. He played on the club baseball team at East Carolina University before signing with the Houston Astros organization.
- 12 players return from last year’s team, headlined by outfielder J.J. Matijevic and pitcher Patrick Sandoval.
- First baseman Jake Adams led the nation in home runs (29) during his 2017 college season at the University of Iowa. The Astros selected him in the sixth round of last year’s MLB Draft.
- Adams hit his first two home runs of the season during the first eight games of the most recent road trip.
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Bohanek's Blast Leads to 6-3 Win in Series Finale
Geneva, IL — Chicago-area native Cody Bohanek smashed a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to propel the Quad Cities River Bandits to a 6-3 victory over the Kane County Cougars. A large section of his family and friends witnessed Bohanek’s decisive hit as part of a crowd of 1,548 in attendance.
The River Bandits jumped out to an early advantage against Kane County starter Brian Shaffer. Jonathan Arauz tripled for a third straight at bat with one out to move into scoring position. He scored immediately on Michael Papierski’s double to right field, which gave Quad Cities a 1-0 advantage. Papierski was thrown at the plate by left fielder Yoel Yanqui when he tried to score on an ensuing single from Bryan De La Cruz.
Kane County tied the score with an unearned run in the second. Eudy Ramos led off the frame with a double off the wall in right field. The next batter, Ernie De La Trinidad, hit a bouncer back to the mound. Ivey fielded and threw quickly to third, but the throw was off target and skipped passed Marcos Almonte and down the line.
The Cougars broke the tie, thanks to Luis Silverio, to open up a 3-1 lead. Jasrado Chisholm doubled off of Tyler Ivey with one out in the third and then scored on a two-out triple off the top of the wall in right field from Silverio. The outfielder struck again with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, launching his first home run of the season to center field. The home run ended Ivey’s night and increased the Cougars lead to two.
The Bandits answered back in the seventh. With Adrian Tovalin and Colton Shaver, who singled and walked respectively, on base, Bohanek delivered his first home run of the year. The line drive to left field cleared the wall and hit the scoreboard.
The Bandits built their lead to 6-3 with an RBI triple from De La Cruz and a run-scoring double in the following at bat from Tovalin in the eighth.
Quad Cities finished with ten hits. De La Cruz went 3-5 to lead the attack. He now owns a six-game hit streak. Bohanek led all hitters with three runs batted in. Tovalin drove in at least one run for the fourth straight contest.
Ivey worked 4.2 innings as the starter. He surrendered three runs, two of them earned, on six hits while striking out five. Colin McKee picked up his third win by tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless ball, allowing one hit and striking out four. Tanner Duncan picked up his second save by striking out five over 2.2 innings, giving up just one hit.
The Bandits took three games from the Cougars to win their first series of the year. The River Bandits closed out a nine-game road trip with a 5-4 record.
The River Bandits (8-10) start a new series back at Modern Woodmen Park with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (8-6) on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Both teams have not yet announced their starting pitchers for the contest. There will be post-game fireworks and the first pint glass giveaway of the season.
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
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River Bandits Earn Field of Excellence Award
Davenport, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits have been chosen as a winner of the Pioneer® Athletics 2017 Fields of Excellence® Award. The work of Head Groundskeeper Andrew Marking and his staff on Modern Woodmen Park’s playing surface, was chosen from a large pool of athletic fields from around the country.
As an award winner, the River Bandits will receive a certificate of recognition and a Fields of Excellence banner that will hang at Modern Woodmen Park. The ballpark may also be featured in Pioneer’s upcoming publications and annual calendar.
This award is another addition to an already impressive list of honors received by Modern Woodmen Park. In 2017, it was selected as a Top-5 Ballpark in the Midwest by Midwest Living magazine. The stadium was also recognized for having the Best Ballpark Amusement Ride by MiLB.com, being the Best of the Ballparks at the Class-A level by Ballpark Digest, and ranked as one of the 10 Best Minor League Ballparks in 2015.
On an individual basis, Marking enjoyed a notable 2017 calendar year. In addition to this honor, he was also named the 2017 SportsTurf Managers Association “Stars and Stripes Contest” winner as well as 2017 Iowa Sports Turf Manager of the Year.
The Fields of Excellence Award Program was established in 1997 and has honored over 1011 athletic fields from around the country since its creation. Colleges, universities, high schools and parks & recreation departments from across the United States submitted photographs, letters of recommendation and application forms describing their institutions detailed athletic field maintenance program. A rigorous judging process yielded 91 winners from a large pool of applicants.
Pioneer® is the nation’s leading manufacturer of athletic field marking paint and equipment. Designed for durability and dependability, Pioneer’s line-up of natural and synthetic field paints, antimicrobial coatings, striping machines, high-quality stencils and athletic accessories are used by over 22,000 high schools, colleges and professional athletic organizations throughout North America.
