Cedar Rapids snaps Quad Cities' longest regular season winning streak in more than six years

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AUG. 4, 2013) - The Quad Cities River Bandits came within two outs of their longest regular season winning streak in 11 years Sunday, but the Cedar Rapids Kernels took advantage of an error by center fielder Teoscar Hernandez to score the tying run, and Joel Licon had a walk-off single for the last of his team's three ninth-inning hits in a 3-2 Kernels victory at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Quad Cities (25-16 second half, 63-47 overall) had won seven straight games and sought the club's longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2002. Shortstop Carlos Correa had three singles - including a go-ahead hit in the top of the ninth inning - to tally seven hits in the first two games of the series, and River Bandits pitchers only allowed two hits through the first eight innnings. Quad Cities left 11 runners on base and suffered its second walk-off defeat of the season - and first since June 8 in Peoria.

The River Bandits took a first-inning lead against Kernels right-hander Jose Berrios, who allowed singles by left fielder Danry Vasquez and shortstop Carlos Correa before walks to designated hitter Dan Gulbransen and first baseman Bobby Borchering, the last of which forced home the game's first run. With a 1-0 lead, left-hander Brian Holmes took the mound for his first Midwest League start since May 26. Center fielder Jonathan Murphy hit a leadoff triple and later scored when right fielder Adam Brett Walker II hit into a fielder's choice.

Holmes and Berrios kept the 1-1 tie through their six-inning starts. Berrios overcame six walks and five hits to strike out three batters and strand eight runners on base in the first six innings. Holmes kept Cedar Rapids hitless from the second batter of the game until one out in the fifth inning, and he did not allow a runner into scoring position after the first inning. In a season-high six innings, Holmes gave up two hits and two walks while striking out three batters.

Cedar Rapids (27-15, 67-43) used left-hander Brandon Bixler and right-hander Madison Boer (1-0) for scoreless seventh and eighth innings respectively, but Boer allowed Hernandez's ninth-inning leadoff double off the left-field wall. Vasquez grounded out to advance Hernandez to third base, and Correa singled through the middle of a drawn-in infield for a 2-1 lead.

After two scoreless innings by River Bandits right-hander Daniel Minor, right-hander Juan Minaya (1-5) started the bottom of the ninth inning. Second baseman Jorge Polanco hit a one-out single to right field, and Walker lined a single to center, where Hernandez had the ball go under his glove and roll to the warning track, which scored Polanco and put Walker on third. After an intentional walk to first baseman Max Kepler, Minaya struck out designated hitter Travis Harrison. But Licon grounded an 0-1 pitch up the third-base line for a two-out, game-winning single.

The River Bandits continue the series in Cedar Rapids at 6:35 p.m. Monday. Quad Cities left-hander Josh Hader will make his Midwest League debut against Kernels right-hander Christian Powell (2-4).

UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is a nominee for the "Best Minor League Ballpark" in the 2013 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, and fans can vote once per day at 10Best.com until the winner is announced Aug. 14. The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park Wednesday, Aug. 7. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at  563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

By Jason Alderman

When budgeting for back-to-school expenses, parents generally include routine fare like clothes, school supplies and maybe a new backpack. But if your kids participate in extracurricular activities, whether it's sports, music lessons or art classes, you could be on the hook for hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars in additional expenses throughout the year if you're not careful.

As parents, we hesitate to stifle our children's athletic and creative urges, especially when it can be so difficult to drag them away from their iPods and Xboxes. But sometimes you've just got to step back, weigh the different options available and decide what you can afford without upsetting your other financial goals and responsibilities.

You'll face tough questions like, "Is it better for my child's future to spend $500 on a soccer day camp he'll really enjoy or to invest the money in a 529 College Savings Plan?"

My wife and I commonly wrestle with these types of questions. For example, last fall our son had outgrown his baseball equipment and was begging us for a new bat that cost $125. A year later, it sits on the sidelines because he prefers to use a friend's bat. (We're not complete pushovers, however: When he recently obsessed over a $200 pair of high-tech gym shoes, we said no.)

Among the best advice I've received from other parents is, when your kids are exploring new activities, don't overcommit your time or money until you know whether they'll stick with it or quickly move on to the next thing.

For example, before you sink a small fortune into private swimming lessons, start small with a summer class at your local Y or recreation center. If your kid shows a genuine aptitude and doesn't balk at long hours of practice, then you can explore more costly alternatives. Just remember who'll be driving to practice and out-of-town swim meets; in other words, make sure you can honor the time commitment before signing on.

Here are a few tips for prioritizing extracurricular events and keeping your costs down:

• Focus on one sport or activity per kid, per season, especially if they involve multiple practice sessions or games per week.
• Form carpools with other parents. You'll save gas money and time, especially if your kids are practicing at different locations.
• Learn how much equipment and instruction the sport requires. Some, like soccer and basketball can be relatively inexpensive; while others, like horseback riding, golf and ice skating involve expensive equipment or facility rental time.
• Rent or buy used sporting equipment (or musical instruments) until you're sure they'll stick with the activity. Visit Play It Again Sports stores, online ad sites like Craigslist and yard sales.
• Seek out or form a sports equipment exchange in your community where families can donate outgrown or cast-off equipment and uniforms for others to use.
• It's probably better to invest in new safety gear, like helmets and masks, than to buy it used - and potentially damaged. The same goes for items like shoes or baseball gloves that become molded to a child's body - unless they were hardly used.

Sometimes the cost of an elective program is worth making sacrifices elsewhere in your budget. Our daughter loves theater arts, so we decided it was worth shaving our vacation budget to send her to theater camp. She'll make new friends and hone her dramatic and social skills in an environment that public school just can't duplicate.

MONTICELLO, IOWA-Fresh pineapples will be in Iowa for the 36th Annual Pineapple Sale for Camp Courageous the week of August 7th-11th.  The pineapples will be on sale at nearly 30 Hy-Vee Stores in Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Marion, and Waterloo.  Most locations will have the ability to core and place the pineapple in a container for the customer.  A dollar from the sale of each pineapple will go to benefit Camp Courageous, a year-round respite and recreational facility, serving over 6,000 individuals with special needs annually.  Customers not interested in pineapple, are encouraged to buy a gift card for food and send it to camp.  

The 35th Annual Pineapple Gala, will be Friday, August 16th at the Cedar Rapids Marriott beginning at 5:30 p.m. This is one of Iowa's largest charity silent and live auction with nearly 400 items ranging from $5 to condos. An exceptional Hawaiian dinner, entertainment, and door prizes, including a trip for two to Hawaii, are planned for this year's Gala.  Volunteer Emcees for the evening will be Ralph Palmer and Coach Lisa Bluder and the volunteer auctioneer will be Neal Bousselot.  Tickets are $60/each or a table of 10 for $600. Auction items can be donated, or tickets can be obtained through the camp by calling Charlie Becker at 319/465-5916, ext. 2100 or e-mailing at cbecker@campcourageous.org. Many auction items can be viewed at: www.campcourageous.org. Special Camp Courageous overnight rates are available by calling the Marriott.

This year Camp Courageous will be honoring the Dave Schmitt for his years of support of Camp Courageous.

Quad Cities has first seven-game winning streak in the regular season since May 30-June 5, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AUG. 3, 2013) - Quad Cities River Bandits second baseman Austin "Catfish" Elkins came within a double of the cycle, shortstop Carlos Correa had four hits and left-hander Joe Bircher went seven strong innings for a second straight start to lead the River Bandits' to a 5-2 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

 

Quad Cities (25-15 second half, 63-46 overall) won its seventh straight game for the Midwest League club's longest regular season winning streak since May 30-June 5, 2007. The River Bandits had 11 hits combined with four Cedar Rapids errors to pull within one-half game of the Kernels (26-15, 66-43) in the second-half Western Division standings.

 

In the first inning, Kernels left-hander Mason Melotakis (9-4) allowed consecutive two-out singles by Correa and right fielder Dan Gulbransen - who extended his hitting streak to 11 games - before escaping without a River Bandits run. In the second inning, however, first baseman Terrell Joyce singled to right field with one out and went to second base on a groundout. Elkins then grounded to shortstop Niko Goodrum, who allowed the ball to get through him, and Joyce came around to score.

 

Melotakis allowed at least two baserunners in each of the first four innings, but Quad Cities didn't extend the lead until the fourth inning. Joyce reached on an error by third baseman Travis Harrison, and Blasik and Elkins each placed bunt singles to the third-base side. With the bases loaded, Melotakis fanned center fielder Teoscar Hernandez, but left fielder Danry Vasquez singled to left field for a 2-0 lead. Correa then grounded a single up the middle to plate two runs, and went to second when Vasquez was caught in a rundown.

Meanwhile Bircher (3-1) retired the first seven Kernels of the game before a third-inning, one-out single by catcher Michael Quesada. Goodrum doubled leading off the fourth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Adam Brett Walker. Following Goodrum's hit, Bircher retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, with the only batter reaching on a sixth-inning error by Correa.

Elkins homered with one out in the sixth inning off right-hander Dallas Gallant, who worked one inning before right-hander Tim Shibuya held Quad Cities scoreless for the final three innings.

Trailing 5-1, the Kernels made noise in the eighth inning against right-hander Jamaine Cotton, who walked two batters and allowed two this to load the bases and bring in a run. Right-hander Gera Sanchez came in with a three-run lead and two outs to fan Walker and end the Kernels best threat. In the ninth inning, River Bandits right-hander Jordan Jankowski gave up consecutive singles before getting the final three outs - including the last two on strikeouts - for his fifth save.

 

Saturday's victory also means The Captain's Table at 4801 River Drive in Moline will offer The Captain's Table Victory Discount on Sunday, Aug. 4. Anyone who mentions the River Bandits victory can receive a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of two lunches or dinners with beverages on Sunday, Aug. 4. The River Bandits continue a four-game series in Cedar Rapids at 2:05 p.m. Sunday.

 

UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is a nominee for the "Best Minor League Ballpark" in the 2013 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, and fans can vote once per day at 10Best.com until the winner is announced Aug. 14. The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park Wednesday, Aug. 7. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at  563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.