As the last out was recorded Monday evening by the Champion West Michigan Whitecaps in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Midwest League closed a record setting 2015 season.

• The Midwest League set a regular season attendance record during 2015 drawing 4,233,904 fans breaking the previous record set in 2010, of 4,184,843 fans. This total was (i) 10% of all fans who attended every Minor League Baseball ("MiLB") game throughout all MiLB  Leagues, and (ii) exceeded every other League except for the Class AAA Leagues, International and Pacific Coast.

• The post-season saw an additional 32,479 fans through the turnstiles, the highest since 2010 when the playoffs brought in 34,686 fans. Without question the enthusiasm of the fans at the playoff games exceeded anything experienced before.

• A number of clubs either continued record streaks or set new attendance records:

1. Dayton continued its consecutive home sell out streak which began in 2000 and once again was the number 1 Class A team in attendance; exceeded every Class AA team; and number 8 in all of MiLB

2. South Bend and Quad Cities set attendance records-South Bend exceeding 300,000 fans for the first time in its history by drawing 348,000 fans.

3. Fort Wayne had its highest per game average attendance and would have set an all time attendance record had it not had 3 rain outs during the season.

4. Kane County finished in the top 30 in attendance in MiLB, and second in the Midwest League.

5. The remainder of Midwest League Clubs had very strong results which helped to contribute to a League wide record setting season.

President Dick Nussbaum, completing his first year in this role commented: "The Sixteen (16) Midwest League Clubs have shown they are the very best in Minor League Baseball, and as we congratulate our champion, the West Michigan Whitecaps, all Clubs can take a bow for this record setting season.  The 2016 Season can not come soon enough."

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Quad Cities: Over 200 athletes from across North America, both men and women, arrive in the Quad Cities the first weekend in October to compete for the National Title at this year's North American Strongman National Championships.  This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event takes place at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

The public is invited to all competitions.  They are held in the RiverCenter's Great Hall on Friday, October 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.   Admission to the event is $7 per person or $5 when you bring a non-perishable food item which will be donated to the local food pantry.

In addition to the competitions, there will be plenty of other activities going on at the RiverCenter including door prizes, health screenings, health and fitness vendors, and a variety of fun activities for the kids.

The athletes will be competing not only to become North America's Strongest, but they are also vying for a spot at the World Championships, that will be held early spring at the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival in Ohio.  Strongman Corporation chose the Quad Cities for the event, due to the known factor of the Quad Cities being a great sporting town that support a variety of sporting events.

This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event was secured through the efforts of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Spectators have the opportunity to see amazing athletes in action during a variety of competitions.  On October 2, three events take place on opening day.  The Log Clean and Press competition gives athletes 60-seconds to get in as many lifting reps without touching the ground.  This is followed by Conan's Carry Yoke Walk where athletes have 60-seconds to carry a yoke in front of their body for 60-feet.  The day concludes with the Farmers challenge in which competitors have 60-seconds to carry farm implements for a distance of 60-feet.

The competition concludes on Saturday with two final events, the Push Pull Medley and Sand Bag Carry.  During the Push Pull Medley, competitors do a one-arm giant dumbbell press over their head followed by a one-arm deadlift pull.  Athletes must go back and forth between the press and pull.  A successful rep is one complete press and one complete pull.  They are judged on how many they can complete in 60-seconds.  The Sand Bag Carry and Load Medley gives each athlete 75-seconds to load four sandbags onto a platform.  Each sandbag is placed about 60-feet from the platform.

Strongman Corporation (SC) is the sole sanctioning and governing body for the sport of professional and amateur strongman events in the U.S.  SC provides athletes with opportunities by promoting numerous professional strongman contests across the country yearly.  These contests include America's Strongest Man®, the Olympia Strongman Challenge, the U.S. Nationals and Pro-Am and Platinum-Plus series.  SC also works directly with individual promoters, international representatives and strongman federations, world-wide to ensure that American athletes have opportunities abroad as well.

SC has the largest amateur-to-professional strongman system in the world.  SC has developed relationships world-wide that allows young athletes the time to mature in the amateur ranks while having the opportunity to compete in SC sanctioned events and earn their professional status.  SC also fosters the growth of strongman in the international community by advising countries and regions as they develop amateur-to-professional systems of their own.  SC hosts the annual Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships which sees international and American amateur strongman competitors compete for the World Champion title and professional strongman status.

Strongman Corporation is the premier amateur and professional strongman corporation in the world. Their mission is to provide quality strongman contests for the public while ensuring fair treatment for the competitors.

Headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri, they have a number of training facilities all over the world for new and veteran athletes.  Strongman Corporation has over 200 contests per year that qualify athletes to compete in the National Championships.  From the National Championships, athletes qualify to compete at the World Championships in March at the Arnold Classic.  For more information, visit strongmancorporation.com

Sponsors for the competition include New Age Performance, SBD Apparel, KT Tape, and McDougal Chiropractic Services. SBD is a global sportswear brand, founded to design and produce market-leading performance products in conjunction with their team of elite athletes, coaches and health professionals.  SBD produces special sleeves worn on the arms during powerlifting, crossFit and Strongman competitions.  SBD will have a vendor booth at the competition and will be selling their product.

KT Tape is an elastic sports and fitness tape designed for muscle, ligament, and tendon pain relief and support. KT tape will be on hand to help assure athletes safety and working hand in hand with Dr. Todd McDougal to help keep athletes in the event.

New Age Performance will also have a booth at the competition.  New Age Performance is taking the sports and fitness world by storm because there is nothing available on the market that provides the instantaneous athletic enhancing benefits of their Mouthware products.  It doesn't matter if you're a pro athlete or just a health conscious consumer, New Age Performance can help enhance your performance by experiencing increased strength, balance, flexibility, oxygen uptake, range of motion and grind protection.  Their Mouthware is the number one choice to help improve performance.

Cedar Rapids scores twice in 11th inning to win 3-1, take series from Quad Cities in two games

DAVENPORT, Iowa (September 11, 2015) - Cedar Rapids right-hander Sam Gibbons held the Quad Cities River Bandits to one run in eight innings, and Kernels first baseman Chris Paul had three hits and all three RBIs - including a go-ahead, two-run single in the 11th inning - in a 3-1 win and two-game series sweep of the Midwest League Western Division Semifinal in front of 1,555 at Modern Woodmen Park Thursday night.

With the game tied at one since the fourth inning, the Kernels' 11th-inning rally began when right-hander Angel Heredia (0-1) walked third baseman T.J. White, and on center fielder LaMonte Wade's sacrifice bunt, catcher Garrett Stubbs skipped a throw to second base that went into center field, allowing White to reach third base. Shortstop Kristian Trompiz then overthrew third base, allowing Wade to reach second. Paul then rolled a grounder up the first-base line past first baseman Bryan Muñiz, scoring both White and Wade for a 3-1 Kernels lead.

Right-hander Nick Anderson saved a second straight Cedar Rapids victory with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th inning. That concluded a six-inning stretch in which Kernels pitchers faced the minimum number of Quad Cities batters. Right-hander Yorman Landa (1-0) earned the win with two shutout innings, only allowing a 10th-inning leadoff single to left fielder Drew Ferguson - the only Quad Cities baserunner in the last six innings - before catching a bunt popup by right fielder Ramon Laureano and doubling Ferguson off first base.

Gibbons began the game by retiring the first 10 River Bandits in order, and after allowing two hits in each of the fourth and fifth innings, retired the last nine consecutive men he faced, before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Cedar Rapids took the lead in the top of the fourth inning against River Bandits starter Brock Dykxhoorn, beginning with a fielding error on Muñiz that allowed right fielder Edgar Corcino to reach first base. White drew a walk, and Wade's sacrifice put both runners in scoring position with one out. Paul's groundout to Trompiz gave the Kernels a 1-0 lead.

Quad Cities got its run in the bottom half of the inning against Gibbons, beginning with a one-out triple to right-center field by designated hitter Jason Martin. Third baseman Nick Tanielu followed with a single through the left side of the infield to tie the game, 1-1.

The River Bandits kept the game even through the middle innings with Dykxhoorn's 6 2/3 innings, in which he allowed an unearned run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Right-hander Eric Peterson replaced Dykxhoorn after a seventh-inning, two-out single by catcher Brian Navarreto and got left fielder Austin Diemer to pop out in foul territory to Stubbs to end the inning. Heredia began the ninth inning and worked around a two-out walk. In the 10th inning, Heredia allowed consecutive two-out singles to second baseman Rafael Valera and shortstop Nick Gordon, putting runners at first and third bases, before striking out Corcino to end the inning.

The Kernels advanced to face Peoria in the best-of-three Western Division Final. The River Bandits have been swept out of the first round by Cedar Rapids in each of their two best regular seasons in franchise history - a 91-46 finish in 1992 and their 88-50 finish this season.

In addition to the best regular season winning percentage (.638) in full-season Minor League Baseball for the first time in franchise history, the River Bandits posted a franchise-record 2.65 ERA. The records came while Quad Cities led the Houston Astros organization by using 61 players and 37 pitchers - both franchise records.

The River Bandits also set the franchise attendance record at 3,906 per game at Modern Woodmen Park and welcomed a total of 250,004 - the fourth-most since the franchise joined the Midwest League in 1960 and the highest since 1995.

UP NEXT: The Ferris wheel continues to offer rides at Modern Woodmen Park through the end of October (weather permitting). Every Saturday, the Ferris wheel is open for rides 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visit riverbandits.com for the 2016 River Bandits schedule and information on news and events with the River Bandits and Modern Woodmen Park.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: With the installation of the Ferris Wheel, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931, and this year the club is matching that effort by opening three new areas. A two-tiered special group deck immediately behind and overlooking the corn field opened in June. A new 11,000-square-foot concourse expansion down the third-base line will open late August. Finally, the club has expanded the children's play area by an additional 5,500 square feet down the right-field line, with additional bounce houses and the newest ride - Spin Zone Bumper Cars - as the latest attraction.

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