Quad Cities Cruises Past Peoria for Back-to-Back Wins

Peoria, Illinois – The Quad Cities River Bandits recorded nine hits with runners in scoring position and matched their largest margin of victory this season, as they topped the Peoria Chiefs 11-2 on Saturday night at Dozer Park.

For the fourth-straight contest, the River Bandits landed the first punch in the opening frame and took a 1-0 lead against Chiefs’ starter Brycen Mautz on an RBI-single from Trevor Werner—his second first-inning RBI of the series.

After Frank Mozzicato stranded the game-tying run at third in the bottom half of the first, Jean Ramirez’s RBI double plus a Peoria error pushed Quad Cities’ advantage to 3-0 in the second.

While Mautz would settle down and keep the Bandits off the board in the third and fourth—even retiring eight in-a-row at one point—Mozzicato matched him zero for zero and tossed his second scoreless 5.0-inning start against the Chiefs this season.

Mautz eventually ran back into trouble in the fifth, giving up a two-run triple to Werner, followed by a Carson Roccaforte RBI-single one pitch later in what would be his final frame.

Gustavo Rodriguez had similar issues out of the Chiefs’ bullpen and gave up a three-spot of his own in the sixth when Devis Nadal (RBI-single), Carter Jensen (RBI sacrifice-fly), and again Werner (RBI-single) ballooned the QC advantage to 9-0.

After Mozzicato’s departure, Oscar Rayo kept the Bandits’ lead intact through the home half of the sixth, but saw his 14.2-scoreless inning streak come to an end in the seventh, when Graysen Tarlow took advantage of a two-out walk and a Quad Cities error with a two-run single. The Bandits would get the runs back against Zane Mills in the top of the ninth however, plating a tally on a Peoria error and a run on a Ramirez single, his third hit of the game.

Natanael Garabitos would officially lock down the Quad Cities win in the ninth, picking up the game’s final three outs.

The win marks Mozzicato’s (4-5) fifth-straight start of five or more innings, while Mautz (0-9) allowed a season-high six runs (five earned) for the second time in as many starts against the Bandits.

Quad Cities will look to win the six-game series in the set’s finale on Sunday afternoon, as Ben Kudrna (3-4, 3.47) takes the mound against Peoria’s Inohan Paniagua (6-4, 3.49), who allowed one run in a 5.0-inning start against the Bandits on Tuesday. First pitch at Dozer Park is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.