Chiefs Clip Sky Carp on Saturday

BELOIT, WI – The Peoria Chiefs never trailed Saturday in an 8-4 win over the Beloit Sky Carp at ABC Supply Stadium.

Again, the Chiefs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Tre Richardson drove in his fourth first-inning run in this week’s series, scoring Alex Iadisernia on a triple to the wall in center. Richardson reached base four times on Saturday to pace the Chiefs.

Beloit had traffic on the bases all night long on Saturday, piecing together their best scoring chance in the bottom of the second. With one out in the inning, the Sky Carp loaded the bases against Chiefs starter Ixan Henderson. The Peoria starter responded by striking out Brett Roberts and retiring Colby Shade via a 6-3 groundout to escape the jam.

In the top of the fourth, the Chiefs broke the game open. After Richardson led off the inning with a walk, Won-Bin Cho plated Cho with a single to the center field fence. Cho stumbled around first base and had to settle for an RBI single, extending the Chiefs lead to 2-0. Following a single and a double steal, Trey Paige scored Cho on an RBI groundout to grow the lead to 3-0. Later in the inning, Sammy Hernandez delivered the big blow. His two-run shot to left capped off a four-run inning and gave the Chiefs a 5-0 lead. For Hernandez, it was his first High-A hit.

Peoria cashed in a Chase Davis triple in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 6-0. Richardson chopped a single through the middle of the diamond to record his second RBI of the night.

From there, Beloit chipped away. A Ryan Ignoffo single cut the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth. For Chiefs starter Ixan Henderson, it was the only run surrendered over five innings. He earned the win for Peoria, his second High-A victory of the year.

After Beloit scratched another run in the seventh, the teams traded runs in the eighth. The Chiefs lead ballooned to 7-2 on an RBI single from Paige that kicked off of the right foot of the Sky Carp pitcher Xavier Meachem. The next batter, Hernandez, proved that he could play small ball, too. The Peoria catcher earned an RBI on a safety squeeze to make it 8-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Beloit recorded four singles against Peoria reliever Tyler Bradt, who twirled three perfect innings on Wednesday. A two-run single from Ignoffo cut the Peoria lead to 8-4. Beloit got no closer in the ballgame, however, as a Kemp Alderman groundout ended the inning.

The Chiefs remain two games back of Quad Cities in the Midwest League’s second-half standings with seven games to go. Quad Cities has won four consecutive games to maintain their lead over Peoria.

The Chiefs wrap up their series and their regular-season road slate on Sunday at Beloit. Darlin Saladin is the probable starter for the Chiefs. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.