Kudrna’s Dominant Start Leads Bandits to Series Win Over Chiefs

Peoria, Illinois – Ben Kudrna racked up a season-high nine strikeouts and spun 6.0-scoreless innings to propel the Quad Cities River Bandits to a 4-1 win over the Peoria Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at Dozer Park.

The River Bandits staked their starter to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, as Jared Dickey and Carson Roccaforte struck for a pair of RBI singles off Inohan Paniagua.

While Quad Cities totaled 11 total base runners against the Chiefs starter, Paniagua kept the Bandits off the board over the final four frames of his 5.0-inning performance. The two-run advantage would be more than enough for Kudrna though, who faced just three over the minimum.

Tyler Bradt kept the scoreless inning string alive for Peoria, striking out the side in order during the top of the sixth, but the Bandits mustered a two-out rally against the reliever in the seventh, extending their advantage to 4-0 on Dickey’s two-run triple, his second of the season.

Peoria cracked into the run column against Chase Isbell in the bottom of the seventh, trimming QC’s lead to three on Darlin Moquete’s RBI-single, but after 1.2 innings from Isbell, Ben Sears quieted the rally by picking up the inning’s final out with just one pitch.

Sears then returned to the hill for the ninth and completed his Midwest League-leading ninth save of the season, tying the most in a season for a River Bandits arm since the team became a Royals affiliate in 2021.

The victory—the fourth of the season for Kudrna (4-4)—marked Quad Cities third-straight and clinched the club’s second series win in-a-row.

Quad Cities will split Independence Week between Davenport and Cedar Rapids and begins a three-game homestand against the Kernels on Monday. Ryan Ramsey (1-2, 3.05) is slated to get the start against Cedar Rapids’ Jordan Carr (2-2, 6.08). First pitch at Modern Woodmen Park is set for 6:30 p.m.