Davenport, IA — A dropped fly ball with two outs in the seventh inning allowed the Lake County Captains to score the decisive run in a 2-1 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park on Thursday night.
For the eighth straight game, the River Bandits were the first team to reach the scoreboard. Corey Julks opened the bottom of the third inning by drawing a walk from Lake County starter Gregori Vasquez. He stole second base and then moved to third on an infield single from Jake Meyers. Meyers also stole second to put two in scoring position with no outs. After Jonathan Arauz struck out, Michael Papierski hit a sharp groundball down the first base line that was stabbed by the first baseman Ulysses Cantu on a diving effort. Papierski was retired, but Julks scored for a 1-0 lead.
Lake County evened the score in the fourth inning, but Meyers helped prevent further damage. Nolan Jones led off with a base hit and moved to second base on another single from Austen Wade with one out. Oscar Gonzalez walked to load the bases for Jonathan Laureano. The Lake County catcher ripped a double off the glove of Meyers in center to score Jones, but Wade was thrown out at the plate on a relay from Meyers to Arauz to Papierski. Meyers then made a leaping catch on the warning track to rob Todd Isaacs of extra bases and end the inning with the score still tied at one.
The Captains jumped in front when left fielder Jonathan Lacroix dropped a fly ball in left field that allowed Jorma Rodriguez to score all the way from first base in the fateful seventh inning. The error allowed Lake County to move ahead 2-1.
In the bottom of the same inning, the River Bandits put two men in scoring position with one out. Jake Meyers laced a line drive directly at right fielder Will Benson who then threw out Bohanek at the plate after he stumbled trying to tag up from third. The River Bandits could never threaten again as they dropped the opening game of the series.
Luis Garcia lasted 4.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits as he walked three and struck out four. Cristian Javier took the hard luck loss, surrendering just the unearned run on one hit with seven strikeouts and a walk. Adam Bleday struck out the side in the top of the ninth in his only inning of work.
The River Bandits outhit the Captains 7-4. Bohanek was the only player for either team with two hits.
The River Bandits (18-14) battle the Lake County Captains (15-17) again at Modern Woodmen Park on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. River Bandits LHP Parker Mushinski (1-0, 1.74) will square off against Lake County LHP Francisco Perez (1-2, 6.00) on the mound.
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
