BANDITS FALL VICTIM TO LATE COUGARS RALLY
Quad Cities (25-23) got nearly all of their offensive production from Charlie Kingrey and Francisco Rivera, who combined for five of the River Bandits six hits and their only RBI. Kane County (30-19) took control of the game with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the eighth, which started with two outs and the bases empty.
The game was tied 1-1 when the rally started with a two-out walk in the eighth issued by Chuckie Fick to Danny Hamblin. Corey Brown followed by ripping a double down the first base line, and Hamblin raced around third as the relay throw came in from right-fielder Charlie Kingrey to the first baseman Rivera to Luis De La Cruz at the plate. De La Cruz applied the tag, but Hamblin was called safe on a bang-bang play at home to give the Cougars the lead. Brown's double proved to be the first of four consecutive hits, as Larry Cobb added an RBI-double, Jonathan Johnston singled, and Dusty Napolean capped the rally with a run-scoring single to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Justin Friend (4) came in for the top of the ninth, striking out two in a perfect inning to earn the save. Chad Kerfoot (1-0) was rewarded with the win after throwing two scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
Early on, Kane County won the race to the scoreboard in the second inning, taking advantage of a leadoff walk to Hamblin. A wild pitch moved the runner to second base, and with one out Cobb's double down the left field line scored Hamblin for a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the River Bandits struggled to get anything going against Cougars' starter Jamie Richmond, who beat Quad Cities with 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball the first time he saw them on May 9 at Modern Woodmen Park. After back-to-back singles by Charlie Kingrey and Francisco Rivera with two outs in the first, Richmond retired 12 of the next 13 batters that he faced before running out of gas in the sixth.
Mike Folli earned a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth, but was still standing at first two outs later. Kingrey and Rivera followed with their second batch of consecutive two-out singles, with Rivera's knock driving home Folli to tie the score at 1-1.
That score held until Kane County's rally in the eighth, which dealt Fick (0-2) the loss. Although he was just one strike away from getting through four scoreless innings, Fick's final line included three runs on five hits.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits will spend Memorial Day Weekend taking on the Kane County Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium before returning to Modern Woodmen Park to finish out the month of May with a four-game series against Burlington. The home series starts Wednesday with Guaranteed Prize Night and an IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union Night, giving members of the credit union the opportunity to get two free kids tickets by showing their membership cards at the box office. Game two of the series will be Soap Opera Night on a Thirst-Day Thursday, featuring half-price draft beer, wine, margaritas, and fountain soda. Get a blast from the past on Friday with '80s Night and stay late for a FIREWORKS Friday. Lastly, the homestand will conclude with a Cowbell Giveaway to the first 1,500 fans thanks to Kemp's Ice Cream's salute to the cowbell, while "The Warmth" will take the stage live for a post-game concert on a Rockin' Saturday. Merchandise featuring the new team name and logo is currently available by visiting the Modern Woodmen Park team store, and season ticket packages, mini-packages, and the popular You-Pick-10 Plan are on sale at the park or by calling (563) 3-BANDITS!