Quad Cities' gets tying run aboard in ninth but falls 7-5
DAVENPORT, IA. – The Quad Cities River Bandits got a five-for-five night from leadoff man Brooks Marlow, but were out-slugged, 7-5, by the South Bend Cubs on a chilly Tuesday night at Modern Woodmen Park in front of 2,057 fans. Tickets to the game were completely free as a way of thanking the community for all their great support.
Trailing 4-1, the Bandits (7-12) worked back into the contest with a strong fifth frame. Brooks Marlow roped a single and later scored on a wild pitch. Daz Cameron and Kyle Tucker worked walks and scored on a rare two-run sacrifice fly from Connor Goedert to tie the contest, 4-4.With the score still locked, the Cubs (12-6) used a walk and two base hits to take the lead for good. P.J. Higgins worked a walk and Donnie Dewees followed with a triple to drive him in. Eloy Jimenez knocked an RBI-double to centerfield, scoring Dewees and giving South Bend the 6-4 lead over the Bandits. After Jacob Dorris struck out the first two hitters of the eighth, Sutton Whiting drew a walk and Higgins drove him in with a double to put the cubs ahead by three, 7-4.
Quad Cities sparked a rally in the ninth with three straight hits. Bobby Wernes singled and advanced on a wild pitch before Antonio Nunez used a single of his own to plate a run. Marlow followed with a liner into left for hit number five on the night and put runners at the corners. But Cameron grounded into a fielder's choice and Tucker struck out swinging to end the game. Tucker had his six-game hit streak snapped, but did draw a walk to extend his on-base streak to 13 games.
The Cubs jumped out early with two runs in the second frame. Eloy Jimenez and Eddy Martinez led off the frame with base hits. Daniel Spingola followed with a two-run single to give South Bend a 2-0 advantage.
The River Bandits got one run back in the bottom of the second. Dexture McCall knocked a leadoff double to right field. Bobby Wernes worked a two-out double to score McCall and make it a 2-1 contest.
South Bend added two runs in the fourth inning. Tyler Alamo scored Spingola with a one-out double. Jesse Hodges was the next batter up and collected a RBI-single to score Alamo and give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.
Casey Bloomquist (2-0) took the victory in a three-inning relief appearance. The right-hander tossed three scoreless innings while striking out two. Greyfer Eregua allowed a run and three hits in the ninth, but was able to strand the potential tying run on base for the save. Cubs’ starter Preston Morrison took no decision, giving up four runs over five innings.
Albert Abreu (0-2) took the loss for the Bandits. The righty allowed two runs on two hits and three walks over two innings of relief. Jose Hernandez went 3.1 innings for the Bandits in his start, giving up four runs on six hits with six strikeouts.
The River Bandits try again for their first win at home in 2016 with a special morning start time on Wednesday. Game two of the three-game series is set for 11:00 a.m. CT for the first Book Buddies game of the season. You can join Jake Levy and Lance Ragland for the broadcast on MiLB.TV, or on air on K-BOB 1170 AM and riverbandits.com or the TuneIn app. The broadcast begins with the Lloyd Agencies Pregame Show at 10:45 a.m. CT.
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