Nuts shock QC with 6-run 9th, triumph in 10th

DAVENPORT**,* *IA* *–** Held to three hits and trailing 7-1 entering the ninth inning, the Lansing Lugnuts (24-29, 56-62) roared back with a stunning six-run rally, beating the Quad Cities River Bandits (28-25, 58-60), 8-7, in ten innings on Saturday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

It was Lansing’s second straight extra-inning victory at Quad Cities following a thrilling 7-6 11-inning victory on Friday night, and it set the stage for the Lugnuts – who lost the first three games of the series while scoring a combined four runs – to clinch a six-game split with a win in the Sunday finale.

Nate Nankil’s first High-A home run, a solo shot in the second inning, was the Nuts’ only squeak of offense through the majority of the night, overcome by a two-run Spencer Nivens single off Mitch Myers in the fifth and a five-run River Bandits rally off Dylan Hall in the sixth.

But Yehizon Sanchez blanked the Bandits without a hit in the seventh and eighth innings, keeping the deficit at six and setting the stage for the ninth.

Facing Natanael Garabitos and his 97-100 mph fastball, T.J. Schofield-Sam led off with a walk and Nankil singled to right-center. After a flyout by Luke Mann, Cole Conn singled in Schofield-Sam to pare the Bandits’ lead to 7-2. Casey Yamauchi singled to load the bases, and Jonny Butler worked a walk to pull the Lugnuts within 7-3.

Quad Cities turned to right-hander Connor Fenlong, whom Danny Bautista, Jr. greeted with a three-run double to left, clearing the bases and bringing the Lugnuts within 7-6. Former River Bandit Jared Dickey followed with a game-tying RBI single to right, completing the comeback and forcing a bottom of the ninth.

The River Bandits attempted to answer in the home half against new reliever Diego Barrera, putting the winning run at third on a leadoff walk to Jac Caglianone and a one-out double from Carson Roccaforte. The Nuts intentionally passed Shervyen Newton to load the bases, a gamble that paid off in an inning-ending double-play ball from Dustin Dickerson.

Luke Mann opened the top of the tenth with an RBI single to right-center off Fenlong, giving the Lugnuts their first lead since it was 1-0.

In the bottom of the tenth, Omar Hernandez sacrificed bonus runner Dickerson to third. But Sam Kulasingam grounded out to shortstop with the infield drawn in, and Justin Johnson flied out to center, wrapping up two brilliant scoreless innings from Barrera.

Bautista, Jr. led a 10-hit attack for the offense, finishing 3-for-5, while Nankil went 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored, including the game-winner in the tenth inning.

Right-hander Kade Morris starts the series finale for the Lugnuts on Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. local time, opposing Quad Cities lefty Oscar Rayo.

Following the game’s conclusion, the Lugnuts enjoy a day off on Monday before opening the final homestand of the year from August 27-September 1 against Fort Wayne. For further information, visit milb.com/lansing or call (517) 485-4500.

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