DAVENPORT, IOWA (June 7, 2021) — In a game that lasted just two hours and 10 minutes, their shortest of the year, the Quad Cities River Bandits won their third in-a-row en route to their fourth series win of the season with a 5-3 victory over the Beloit Snappers on Sunday.
As they had done in the previous two contests, Beloit got out the early lead against Zach Haake thanks to Kameron Misner’s leadoff triple and then Will Banfield’s two-run blast immediately after.
Down two after half an inning, Quad Cities responded in the bottom of the frame and would take the lead against Bryan Hoeing after three consecutive hits were capped off by Vinnie Pasquantino’s two-RBI double and an error one batter later that allowed him to score and give the Bandits a 3-2 lead.
Haake and Hoeing both settled in to work scoreless second and third innings, before Dustin Skelton’s two-out solo blast in the top of the fourth knotted the game at three apiece.
However, the River Bandits again bounced back with offense and retook the lead on a pair of extra-base hits, a double from Michael Massey and an RBI triple from Tucker Bradley. Gavin Stupienski earned his first Q.C. RBI and extended the advantage with a sacrifice fly to make the game 5-3.
With both teams now into their bullpen, Jake Walters kept Beloit in the game thanks to 3.1 scoreless frames of relief, but Will Klein silenced the Snappers with three scoreless innings of his own including three strike-outs.
Zack Phillips did the honors for Quad Cities by securing his team’s win and his first save of the season after working around a one-out walk to post a zero in the top of the ninth.
The afternoon’s starters switched decisions from Game One of the week as Haake (2-1) earned the win on five innings of three-run ball and five strikeouts, while Hoeing (2-2) took the loss after allowing five runs over 4.2 innings on six hits and three “Ks”.
After getting the day off on Monday, the River Bandits will head to Peoria for their second meeting with the Chiefs at Dozer Park. First pitch in game one of the six-game series is scheduled for 6:35PM CDT.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: The 2021 season marks the River Bandits’ first year as a new Advanced-A major-league affiliate. As such, the team will be offering higher-quality baseball than has ever before been played in the Quad Cities. Additionally, the Bandits will welcome a new MLB affiliate to the Quad Cities, the Kansas City Royals. The River Bandits anchor the Quad Cities sports-market, which The Sports Business Journal named the top minor-league sports-market in the country in 2015 and second-best minor-league market in its 2017 follow-up ranking. In 2015, 2017, and again in 2019, the River Bandits earned Ballpark Digest’s award for “Best Charitable Works” in Minor League Baseball, the only club to win that coveted award three times. For more information, visit www.riverbandits.com or contact General Manager Joe Kubly at (563) 333-2768.
