BANDITS RALLY FOR 12-INNING WIN, SWEEP IN BELOIT
With fourth straight win, Quad Cities moves 30 games above .500 for first time in at least 14 seasons
BELOIT, Wis. (July 31, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits third baseman Luis Reynoso hit a game-tying, two-run double with one out in the ninth inning, and second baseman Nick Tanielu hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 12th inning of a 4-3 win over the Beloit Snappers and a three-game series sweep - the team's first since May 9 - at Pohlman Field Thursday night.
With four straight wins for the first time since June 30, the River Bandits (21-13 second half, 66-36 overall) moved 30 games above .500 for the first time in at least 14 seasons. Quad Cities has played 15 extra-inning games this season - its most since 15 in 2010.
Thursday's game began as a pitchers' duel. In his Midwest League debut, River Bandits right-hander Agapito Barrios retired the first 11 batters he faced, before first baseman Max Kuhn singled to left-center field with two outs in the fourth inning. Barrios then set down the next four batters, completing five shutout innings and holding the Snappers (14-19, 40-63) to one hit and no walks with three strikeouts.
Beloit right-hander Joey Wagman scattered four hits in the first five innings but allowed a run in the sixth inning. With two outs, River Bandits center fielder Ramon Laureano doubled to deep left field, and designated hitter Bryan Muñiz dropped a popup RBI double down the right-field line between Kuhn, second baseman Gabriel Santana and right fielder Shawn Duinkerk. Catcher Garrett Stubbs singled, and Muñiz ran toward home, but he was thrown out by the relay from left fielder Justin Higley to third baseman Jose Brizuela to catcher Iolana Akau for the third out of the inning. Wagman allowed one earned run on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings.
With a 1-0 lead, River Bandits right-hander Dean Deetz made his Midwest League debut starting the sixth inning. He worked around a leadoff single by Santana in the sixth inning and a leadoff double by Kuhn in the seventh inning to keep the Snappers off the board. In the eighth inning, however, Duinkerk hit a popup down the third-base line, which Reynoso overran as he came from his shifted position, allowing Duinkerk to reach second base with a double. Designated hitter Joe Bennie then hit a game-tying double past Laureano in center field, and shortstop Mikey White drove in Bennie with a go-ahead double on a line drive down the third-base line. Kuhn walked to put runners at first and second bases, and Deetz was removed for left-hander Zach Davis. Brizuela grounded an infield single to the shortstop hole, but shifted shortstop Kristian Trompiz overthrew first base, allowing White to score to make it 3-1. All three runs - two earned - were charged to Deetz, who allowed five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
With a 3-1 lead, Snappers left-hander Jose Torres began the ninth inning by walking Laureano on four pitches and Muñiz on eight. After Stubbs advanced Laureano and pinch runner Bobby Boyd with a ground-ball to Torres, Reynoso lined a 1-0 pitch down the left-field line to score both runs. Torres struck out Trompiz and left fielder Jason Martin to end the inning. In a 3-3 tie, Davis completed one relief inning, allowing one hit and striking out three batters, before right-hander Angel Heredia entered to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Beloit got an 11th-inning leadoff double by Akau, but Heredia stranded him at third base.
In the decisive 12th inning, Trompiz led off against right-hander Kevin Johnson (2-6) with a double down the left-field line, Martin reached on a bunt single, and after a fielder's choice, Tanielu hit a chopper over Brizuela into left field to score Trompiz. In the bottom of the inning, right-hander Ryan Thompson retired all three batters for his fifth save.
After going 6-3 in a nine-game, 10-day road stretch, Quad Cities opens a season-long nine-game, 10-day homestand at Modern Woodmen Park at 7 p.m. Friday against Wisconsin. River Bandits right-hander Elieser Hernandez (0-1) is scheduled to face Timber Rattlers right-hander Angel Ventura (5-4) in the opener of a three-game series.
UP NEXT: Gates open at 6 p.m. Friday for the 7 p.m. game on John Deere Night. Following the game will be fireworks presented by Smart Toyota of Quad Cities, WLLR and WQAD. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
BLASTS AND BOUNCES HELP BANDITS BEAT BELOIT
Quad Cities hits three home runs in one inning for first time in five years
BELOIT, Wis. (July 29, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits designated hitter Ryan Bottger, left fielder Jason Martin and All-Star third baseman Nick Tanielu each homered in a four-run fifth inning, and right-handers Eric Peterson and Riley Ferrell combined for five scoreless relief innings in a 4-3 win over the Beloit Snappers at Pohlman Field Wednesday night.
Beloit catcher Argenis Raga missed a two-out wild pitch from right-hander Brett Graves (9-5) on a third strike that would have ended the fifth inning with a 1-1 tie. That opened the door for the first three-home run inning by Quad Cities (20-13 second half, 65-36 overall) since hitting three in the first inning of an 8-7 win at Bowling Green July 22, 2010. Raga later appeared to hit a game-tying double in the seventh inning, but the ball bounced over the fence for a ground-rule play to keep the tying run from scoring. That preserved the lead to help Quad Cities achieve its first three-game winning streak since July 4 and move 29 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 5, 2010 (83-54).
For the second straight night, Beloit (14-18, 40-62) took a first-inning lead. Snappers center fielder James Harris and designated hitter Max Kuhn hit consecutive one-out singles to left field, and River Bandits right-hander Justin Ferrell walked All-Star first baseman Sandber Pimentel to load the bases. Catcher Argenis Raga then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field for a 1-0 Beloit lead.
Graves allowed one hit and two walks in the first four innings. In the fifth inning, Bottger led off by swatting an 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a game-tying solo home run - the first Graves had yielded in three starts against Quad Cities. In a 1-1 tie, Graves retired the next two batters before striking out center fielder Bobby Boyd, but the pitch eluded Raga toward foul territory on the first-base side, allowing Boyd to reach first base. Martin then launched a 2-1 pitch over the left-center field wall for an opposite-field home run - his eighth to lead all active River Bandits - and Tanielu followed by hitting a 2-1 pitch from Graves over the left-center field wall. Graves departed after allowing right fielder Drew Ferguson's single, extending his 10-game hitting streak - the longest active streak by a River Bandit. Graves allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Right-hander Carlos Navas entered to toss 2 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief, and right-hander Koby Gauna did not allow a hit or run in the final two innings.
The Snappers trimmed the deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning by putting the first five batters on base against Ferrell. Second baseman Jose Fernandez dropped a leadoff ground ball by right fielder Shawn Duinkerk, and second baseman Tim Proudfoot and left fielder Joe Bennie followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Ferrell then missed the strike zone on the next eight pitches, walking both Harris and Kuhn to force in two runs. With a 4-3 lead and the bases loaded with no outs, Peterson (6-4) struck out Pimentel on three pitches, got Raga to pop out to shallow right field, and put away third baseman Jose Brizuela on a foul popup to first base to keep the lead.
Peterson became Quad Cities' first six-game winner of the season by striking out a career-high five batters and matching a season and career high of three innings pitched. He struck out the side around a single in the sixth inning and kept the lead with help from a fortunate bounce in the seventh inning. Pimentel reached on a two-out bunt single against a shifted infield, before Raga struck a fly ball to deep left-center field, where the ball that could have scored Pimentel bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double, placing Pimentel at third base. Brizuela walked to load the bases before shortstop Mikey White hit a sharp ground ball that Fernandez fielded for an inning-ending forceout at second base. Ferrell allowed one walk and struck out two batters in two hitless innings for his first professional save.
