Quad Cities grounds into four double plays and goes hitless against Kane County's bullpen
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 29, 2015) - Kane County Cougars catcher Stryker Trahan led all players with three hits and two runs, and right-hander Ethan Elias allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, while the Cougars bullpen did not allow a hit in the final 3 1/3 innings of a 5-2 Kane County win and series victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits in front of 5,930 at Modern Woodmen Park Thursday night.
The River Bandits (34-14) hit into four double plays, lost a series for the second time this season and dropped a rubber match for the first time. Quad Cities remained four games ahead of Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League Western Division first-half standings.
For the only time in the three-game series, the River Bandits held the Cougars (24-24) scoreless in the first inning and were first to score. After right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (3-3) pitched a perfect first inning, right fielder Bobby Boyd drew a leadoff walk against Elias (5-1). Boyd stole second base, went to third base on a sacrifice by second baseman Mott Hyde, and scored on an RBI single to left field by center fielder Derek Fisher. Catcher Jacob Nottingham then grounded to shortstop Ildemaro Vargas, who began an inning-ending double play.
With a 1-0 lead, Dykxhoorn began the second inning by walking third baseman Joe Munoz. A wild pitch moved Munoz to second base, and designated hitter Henry Castillo hit a high chopper for an infield single to third baseman Nick Tanielu. Right fielder Ryan Hutchison walked to load the bases. In a nine-pitch at-bat, Trahan hit an RBI single to right field, and Boyd's throw to the infield went to foul territory behind third base, allowing Castillo to score the go-ahead run and putting runners at second and third bases. Dykxhoorn stumbled through his pitching motion for a run-scoring balk, and Vargas lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Trahan for a 4-1 Kane County lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Elias allowed a leadoff walk to catcher Jamie Ritchie, who extended his on-base streak to 26 games - the longest by a River Bandit since Ryan Jackson reached in 28 straight games April 9-May 11, 2010. But Tanielu immediately grounded to second baseman Cody Regis to begin a double play, and first baseman Ryan Bottger lined out to end the inning. In the third inning, left fielder Sean McMullen hit a leadoff single, but shortstop Thomas Lindauer followed by grounding to Munoz, who began a double play. Boyd reached on a two-out infield single and stole his second base of the game, but Hyde flied out to right field to end the inning.
Dykxhoorn worked around a single and walk in the third inning, and Quad Cities turned a double play to help him in the fourth inning. Trahan had reached third base on a bunt single and single by Vargas, but with the latter attempting to steal second base, Ritchie threw to Lindauer to catch him stealing, and Lindauer spun back to throw to home plate, where Ritchie tagged out Trahan. Dykxhoorn retired the next four batters to finish five innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Quad Cities managed a run in the fourth inning, when Ritchie drew a two-out walk, stole second base and scored on Tanielu's RBI single to left field. But Elias struck out Bottger to end the inning and worked around Lindauer's fifth-inning double. In the sixth, Fisher singled before being caught stealing. Nottingham then singled, and Tanielu hit a two-out single to chase Elias after allowing eight hits, walking three batters and striking out four. Left-hander Steve Hathaway walked Bottger to load the bases before McMullen flied out to left field.
Following Dykxhoorn, right-hander Eric Peterson worked a season-high 2 2/3 innings, allowing an unearned run in the seventh inning, when Trahan doubled, went to third base on Vargas's sacrifice and scored when Lindauer misplayed left fielder Victor Reyes's ground ball. Left-hander Jordan Mills finished by retiring all four Cougars he faced. For Kane County, Hathaway worked around a walk for one inning, right-hander Cody Geyer got help from a double play after a walk in 1 1/3 innings, and left-hander Zac Curtis struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save.
With the best record in pro baseball, Quad Cities begins a season-long 10-game road stretch at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Burlington. River Bandits right-hander Joshua James (1-0) is scheduled to face Bees right-hander Jeremy Rhoades (3-3) in the opener of a four-game series.
UP NEXT: It's not too late to sign up for the River Bandits Baseball Camp! For only $80, each child will get two days of professional instruction (June 10-11 or Aug. 5-6), a camp T-shirt, lunch on both days, and a ticket to a River Bandits game. Camps are limited to 100 participants. 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 ROAR PAST ERROR-PRONE COUGARS
Kane County's six errors were the most by a Quad Cities opponent since April 19, 2012
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 27, 2015) - Eight Quad Cities River Bandits scored runs, and seven had hits, while the Kane County Cougars committed six errors to allow the home team to score 12 unanswered runs and overcome a 4-1 deficit for a 13-4 victory that snapped Quad Cities' three-game losing streak in front of 3,172 at Modern Woodmen Park Wednesday night.
The six errors - all committed as double errors on three separate plays - were the most by a Quad Cities opponent since Dayton committed six in a 10-4, 13-inning Quad Cities victory in Dayton April 19, 2012. The miscues led to six unearned runs by the River Bandits (34-13).
For a second straight night, Kane County (23-24) took a lead with a home run before the game's first out. Center fielder Colin Bray beat out an infield single to shortstop Kristian Trompiz on the first pitch of the game by River Bandits right-hander Austin Chrismon. Third baseman Cody Regis, who homered as the second batter in Tuesday's game, followed with a single to right field, and first baseman Marty Herum launched his fifth home run of the season to the Modern Woodmen Berm in left field for a 3-0 Kane County lead.
After being shut out Tuesday, Quad Cities reached the scoreboard in the first inning against Cougars right-hander Touki Toussaint (0-1). Second baseman Mott Hyde drew a one-out walk, went to second base and scored on catcher Jacob Nottingham's RBI single.
In the top of the third inning, Bray hit the first pitch from Chrismon off the right-center field fence, and with the ball caroming into right-center field, Bray circled the bases with a head-first slide into home plate for an inside-the-park home run and 4-1 Kane County lead. From that point, Kane County had four hits, four walks and no runs against Quad Cities pitchers. Chrismon pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Right-hander Angel Heredia (1-0) worked around two walks for a scoreless fifth inning in his Midwest League debut. Right-hander Jorge Perez began with a 7-4 lead in the sixth inning and worked around three hits and two walks - including a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth inning - in the final four scoreless innings to earn his first save.
With a 4-1 deficit, Hyde began Quad Cities' comeback with a third-inning, one-out solo home run - his first of the season - to the Modern Woodmen Berm. In the bottom of the fourth, third baseman Nick Tanielu hit a leadoff single to right field. Two batters later, designated hitter Jason Martin hit a one-out ground ball to second baseman Henry Castillo, whose errant flip to second base for a fielder's choice forced shortstop Ildemaro Vargas to leap off the base. Vargas made a wild throw to first base, allowing Tanielu to reach third base and Martin to reach first. Left fielder Sean McMullen doubled to right field, scoring Tanielu to make it 4-3. Toussaint struck out Trompiz with a wild pitch, allowing Martin to score the tying run, McMullen to reach third base, and Trompiz to reach first. Hyde added a two-out RBI single for a 5-4 lead. Toussaint also allowed a fifth-inning, leadoff single to Nottingham and two-run home run to right field by first baseman Ryan Bottger. The Cougars starter allowed seven runs - five earned - on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings.
For Kane County, right-hander Tom Jameson worked a scoreless sixth inning, but right-hander Jeferson Mejia allowed six runs - two earned - on four hits and five walks with one strikeout in two innings. The seventh inning featured 10 batters, five runs - four unearned - three hits, two walks and four errors. Tanielu hit a one-out single, Bottger walked, McMullen hit a two-out RBI single and Herum made a fielding error on a ball hit by Trompiz that went to right field, allowing Martin to score, with McMullen scoring after right fielder Dane McFarland made an errant throw to home plate. Right fielder Bobby Boyd added an RBI infield single, and Regis dropped Hyde's two-out ground ball, before also making an errant throw - for a the third and fourth errors of the inning - that scored Boyd to make it 12-4. In the eighth inning, Tanielu and Martin walked, Trompiz hit a two-out single to right field, and Boyd drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 13-4.
COUGARS SILENCE BANDITS, WHO LOSE 3RD STRAIGHT
Quad Cities has its first three-game losing streak since Aug. 17-19, 2014
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 26, 2015) - Kane County right-handers Wei-Chieh Huang, Nick Baker, Luis Ramirez and Jency Solis combined for a four-hit shutout, and Cougars second baseman Cody Regis hit a two-run home run before the game's first out to help the visitors to a 3-0 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits in front of 1,071 at Modern Woodmen Park Tuesday night.
Swept in a doubleheader Monday, Quad Cities (33-13) has now lost three straight games for the first time since Aug. 17-19, 2014. River Bandits pitchers did not issue a walk Tuesday, but the team lost a series opener for the first time in eight series in the month of May.
On a night that showcased pitching, the Cougars (23-23) gained the advantage quickly against River Bandits right-hander Akeem Bostick (1-1). Center fielder Colin Bray hit a leadoff single to left-center field, and Regis hit his first Midwest League home run - and the first allowed by Bostick since July 25, 2014 - to the Modern Woodmen Berm for a 2-0 Kane County lead through the game's first two batters.
Bostick also allowed a first-inning, one-out single to third baseman Joe Munoz before getting designated hitter Ryan Hutchison to hit into an inning-ending, ground-ball double play. That began a string of 13 batters Bostick retired in order to end his outing. He yielded two earned runs on three hits and no walks with seven strikeouts to match a career high.
Making his professional debut, Huang (1-0) allowed faced one batter over the minimum through the first five innings. He walked River Bandits second baseman Mott Hyde with one out in the first inning and allowed a single to designated hitter Ryan Bottger with one out in the second inning. Bottger was caught stealing by catcher Stryker Trahan and Regis, before Huang set down the next 12 batters. With two outs in the sixth inning, he hit first baseman Jamie Ritchie with a pitch, extending Ritchie's on-base streak to 25 games - the longest in five seasons by a River Bandit since Matt Adams reached in 25 straight games July 18-Aug. 14, 2010. Hyde then singled to left field, ending Huang's outing after 5 2/3 scoreless innings, in which he allowed two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
Baker took over for Huang with runners at first and third bases and two outs. In the only situation in which Quad Cities had the tying run on base, Baker got center fielder Derek Fisher to ground out to first base to end the inning. In the seventh inning, Baker allowed a leadoff double to catcher Jacob Nottingham, who was later retired on a fielder's choice when he tried to reach third base on a ground ball by Bottger to shortstop Ryan Gebhardt. Baker last 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit.
River Bandits rright-hander Brandon McNitt worked the sixth through eighth innings. After a perfect sixth inning, Cougars first baseman Marty Herum led off the seventh inning with a single to right field that broke the string of 16 consecutively retired Kane County batters. But McNitt did not yield a run until the eighth inning, when Trahan led off with a solo home run to the Built Ford Tough Deck. McNitt worked around a two-out error and single to work three innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
In the ninth inning, right-hander Aaron Greenwood worked around a two-out error to pitch a scoreless inning for Quad Cities. He did not allow a hit for a third straight outing to begin his season in the Midwest League.
For Kane County, Ramirez pitched a scoreless eighth inning around a two-out walk to Ritchie, and in the ninth inning, Solis worked around a two-out single by left fielder Sean McMullen to earn his first Midwest League save. It finished the Cougars' third shutout of the season and the third shutout Quad Cities has lost this season.
