RIVER BANDITS RACK UP HITS, WEAR DOWN KERNELS
Alex Bregman hits first professional home run to put Quad Cities a season-best 24 games above .500
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (June 28, 2015) - River Bandits catcher Jamie Ritchie and left fielder Jason Martin each had three hits, shortstop Alex Bregman hit his first professional home run, and right-hander Christian Powell pitched five innings to defeat his former team, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 6-1, at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Quad Cities (3-1 second half, 48-24 overall) moved its overall record 24 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season by out-hitting the Kernels, 46-29, in the four-game series that was a first round playoff preview. The River Bandits took the final three games of the series after dropping the opener on Thursday. On Sunday, the River Bandits recorded single runs in each of the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings, and they tacked on two additional runs in the ninth.
The scoring started for Quad Cities in the second inning against Kernels starter Zach Tillery (4-3). Second baseman Alex Hernandez ripped a ball back up the middle to score center fielder Ramon Laureano, who tripled in his third consecutive game to begin the second half. The lead was doubled in the third inning on a solo shot by Bregman who smacked an 0-2 pitch from Tillery over the wall in straight-away left field to post his first professional round tripper in his third game as a professional.
The lead became three for the River Bandits in the fourth inning, as Hernandez led off with a walk, followed by designated hitter Bobby Boyd's ground-ball single into center field. Third baseman Luis Reynoso bunted two pitches foul before laying down a sacrifice bunt to move each runner one base, before Ritchie hit a line-drive single to right field to score Hernandez for a 3-0 lead.
Cedar Rapids (2-2, 42-32) answered in the bottom of the fourth against Powell for its only run of the game. Designated hitter Alex Real hit his second home run of the season to the top of the picnic deck in left field.
The Bandits got the run right back for a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, as Laureano grounded into a double play with Martin on third base and right fielder Ryan Bottger on first. That lead was more than enough for right-hander Francis Martes, who worked four scoreless innings of relief on just one hit to earn his second save in as many chances. The 4-1 score remained until the ninth, when Martin hit an RBI triple off the right-field wall and later scored on a single by Laureano. Martin came within a home run of the cycle Sunday and finished the four-game series 9-for-19 with four runs, three extra-base hits and two RBIs.
The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park Monday to begin a five game homestand, starting with the first of three games against the Beloit Snappers. Right hander Brandon McNitt (1-2, 5.23) starts for the River Bandits, while Heath Fillmyer (0-8, 8.24) will start for the Snappers.
UP NEXT: Fans may submit photos and nominations of their loved ones who are fighting, or have fought, cancer to bandit@riverbandits.com. From the nominations, 100 photos will be selected to assemble the numbers on the jerseys the River Bandits will wear on Stand Up To Cancer Night July 10, when a jersey auction will benefit Genesis Center for Breast Health. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
BANDITS USE LATE RUNS TO BEAT KERNELS IN 10 AGAIN
Tanielu has game-tying hit in ninth inning, Boyd and Bregman drive in runs in 10th inning
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (June 27, 2015) - Down to their final strike twice, the Quad Cities River Bandits rallied to tie the game on back-to-back two out singles by catcher Jacob Nottingham and third baseman Nick Tanielu, and went on to win, 6-4, in 10 innings for the second consecutive game over the Cedar Rapids Kernels Saturday night at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The ninth-inning rally began for the River Bandits (2-1 second half, 47-24 overall) with a one-out walk drawn by designated hitter Jamie Ritchie against Kernels left-hander Cam Booser (1-2). After a fly ball to right off the bat of shortstop Alex Bregman for the second out, Nottingham singled a 2-2 pitch back up the middle, moving Ritchie to second. Tanielu singled to center field on a 1-2 count that allowed Ritchie to score and tied the game, 4-4.
The Bandits built on their ninth inning rally in the 10th against Booser, who walked two of the first three batters he faced. With first baseman Ryan Bottger on second and shortstop Kristian Trompiz on first, center fielder Bobby Boyd bounced a ball to the right side of the infield that was knocked down by first baseman Brett Doe. Boyd reached on an infield single, and Trompiz scored the go-ahead run ahead of Doe's throw to home plate. Quad Cities added an insurance run on a screaming line drive by Bregman, who missed his first home run by just a few feet, but did drive in Boyd with the double, his first extra-base hit and RBI as a professional.
Strong pitching by River Bandits reliever Ryan Thompson (2-2) delivered the game into extra innings. Thompson began his night in the eighth, sending down the first seven Kernels he faced in order. With one out in the 10th inning, designated hitter Jorge Fernandez singled to left to bring the tying run to the plate, but Thompson shut the door by striking out second baseman Rafael Valera and center fielder Tanner English to end the game and seal the win for the Bandits over their first-round playoff opponent, Cedar Rapids (1-2, 42-31).
Quad Cities tacked a single run on the board in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings for a 3-0 lead against Kernels starter Keaton Steele. Nottingham started the scoring, singling to center in the third inning to score Trompiz for the All-Star catcher's team-high 46th RBI. Left fielder Jason Martin doubled the lead in the fourth inning by smacking his fourth home run of the season, a shot over the right field fence. The lead became three in the fifth, as Tanielu collected the first of his run-scoring hits, driving in Boyd on a line drive to center field.
The Kernels were kept quiet by Bandits starter Brock Dykxhoorn through five innings, as the Quad Cities righty allowed just one hit while walking one and striking out three. In the sixth, however, after he notched his fourth strikeout, Cedar Rapids tagged him for four straight hits, including an RBI single by shortstop Nick Gordon and game-tying two-run double from right fielder Edgar Corcino, chasing Dykxhoorn from the game. Reliever Aaron Greenwood gave up a run-scoring single - the Kernels' fifth straight hit - to catcher Alex Real to give the Kernels the lead. After a groundout for the second out, Greenwood got help from right fielder Sean McMullen, who fielded a single by left fielder Zack Larson and threw out Real at home plate to end the inning. Greenwood went 1 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on two hits with one strikeout.
BANDITS RALLY LATE, TOP CEDAR RAPIDS IN 10
Quad Cities tags Kernels bullpen for runs in seventh, eighth, 10th to even playoff preview series
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (June 26, 2015) - A night after losing late to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Quad Cities River Bandits returned the favor, tying the game in the eighth inning on a two-run single by center fielder Bobby Boyd and pulling ahead on a 10th-inning sacrifice fly by shortstop Kristian Trompiz to defeat the Kernels, 4-3 in 10 innings Friday night.
Trailing 3-1 and batting with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth, Boyd lined a ball through the right side of the infield past first baseman Jorge Fernandez to score third baseman Nick Tanielu and left fielder Jason Martin to tie the game. In the first inning of extras, right fielder Ramon Laureano skipped a line-drive triple past sliding right fielder Max Murphy and then scored on the Trompiz sacrifice fly to left field against reliever Randy LeBlanc (5-1) to give the River Bandits the 4-3 lead.
Cedar Rapids (1-1 second half, 42-30 overall) scored two runs in the first inning against River Bandits right-hander Joshua James, as the first four men reached base safely. Center fielder Edgar Corcino and shortstop Nick Gordon each walked, followed by a single from Kernels left fielder Zack Larson. With the bases loaded and nobody out, designated hitter Alex Real singled in Corcino, moving Gordon to third and Larson to second. Murphy struck out for the first out of the inning, and third baseman T.J. White drove in the second run of the inning on a fielder's choice, beating out a play at first and scoring Gordon.
The River Bandits (1-1, 46-24) were stifled through three innings against starter Ethan Mildren, getting just two runners on base in that time, as first baseman Jamie Ritchie walked and singled his first two times to the plate. Quad Cities chased Mildren after six innings, recording back-to-back hits against the righty in the fourth and sixth innings despite not breaking through on the scoreboard. The River Bandits got their first run in the seventh, after Boyd tripled to start the inning and scored on a groundout by Ritchie.
After Quad Cities tied the game in the top of the eighth, Eric Peterson (4-3) was tasked with keeping the Kernels quiet and faced just one over the minimum in the eighth and ninth innings, striking out a pair in the process. In the bottom of the 10th, Angel Heredia had to get through some trouble to earn his second save. With one out, he hit second baseman Pat Kelly, and Corcino reached on a fielding error by Alex Hernandez on a line drive off his glove. Gordon then lined a 1-2 pitch into the left-center field alley way that Boyd caught on leap before a dive to prevent a potential game-tying hit. Heredia struck out Larson to end the ballgame and give the River Bandits the win and even the four-game series at one win apiece.
