Burlington designated hitter Kody Eaves has a game-high three hits and scores deciding run
DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 17, 2014) - Quad Cities River Bandits third baseman J.D. Davis gave his team a 4-2 lead with a two-run home run in the third inning, but the Burlington Bees tallied single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings of a 5-4 win in the rubber match of a three-game series in front of 3,684 at Modern Woodmen Park Sunday afternoon.
For the third straight game, Burlington (26-29 second half, 64-60 overall) scored first, each team held the lead, and the final was a one-run game. The Bees took a second-inning lead against River Bandits right-hander Adrian Houser. First baseman Eric Aguilera hit a leadoff line drive through the right side of the infield that rolled to the right-field wall for a double. An error by shortstop Dayne Parker moved Aguilera to third base, and he later scored on catcher Stephen McGee's RBI groundout to second baseman Jose Fernandez.
The River Bandits tied the game in the next half-inning against left-hander Sean Newcomb. Left fielder Marc Wik singled through the left side of the infield, and Fernandez lined a base hit to center field. Both runners stole a base while catcher Brett Booth was batting, and right fielder James Ramsay hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wik. Burlington retook the lead in the third, as center fielder Bo Way hit a one-out single to left field, went to third base on a single by designated hitter Kody Eaves and scored on shortstop Zach Houchins' groundout.
With a 2-1 lead, Newcomb began the third inning by walking River Bandits center fielder Bobby Boyd, who stole second base. A groundout by designated hitter Ryan Bottger sent Boyd to third base, and first baseman Chase McDonald drove a game-tying double to left-center field. Davis then hit his second Midwest League home run - and second at home against Burlington - to the Built Ford Tough Deck. Newcomb was removed after 2 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Following Newcomb, right-hander Ryan Etsell (5-3) pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings and allowed three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. In the fifth inning, two hits and a walk loaded the bases, but Etsell got Fernandez to fly out and struck out Booth to strand all three runners. With a 4-2 lead, Houser worked a perfect fourth inning, but in the fifth, second baseman Erick Salcedo hit a one-out double to left-center field and scored on Eaves' RBI single. Houser allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five innings.
Right-hander Kevin Comer (1-4) retired the first two batters of the sixth inning before right fielder Brandon Bayardi doubled down the third-base line. Comer hit McGee with a pitch, and third baseman Ryan Dalton hit a game-tying bloop single to right field. In the seventh inning, Eaves hit a leadoff double, went to third base on a groundout, and scored the go-ahead run on Aguilera's sacrifice fly. Comer allowed three earned runs on four hits and a walk with a strikeout in three innings. Left-hander Jordan Mills pitched a scoreless ninth inning, but the Bees finished the three-game series by scoring at least one run in 13 of their 27 innings on offense.
After Etsell, Bees right-hander Brian Loconsole worked around Fernandez's eighth-inning, one-out double for two scoreless innings. Right-hander Ben Carlson walked Boyd with one out in the ninth inning, but with Boyd running from first base, Way caught Bottger's deep fly ball in right-center field and threw to first base for the game-ending double play. Carlson earned his 12th save.
Quad Cities has lost 13 of its last 18 games but has 15 regular season games remaining. The River Bandits begin a six-game road stretch at 6:35 p.m. Monday in Cedar Rapids. River Bandits right-hander Andrew Thurman (5-8) is scheduled to face Kernels right-hander Chih-Wei Hu (5-1) in the opener of a three-game series at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
UP NEXT: The season's final homestand opens with MidAmerican Energy Day and Family Sunday presented by KWQC and B100 at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 24. Pregame autographs are at 12:30 p.m., Bark in the Park means dogs are welcome to the Modern Woodmen Berm, and Kids Run the Bases after the game. The River Bandits are then home through Aug. 29. Tickets are available at www.riverbandits.com.
