Nivens Homers Twice, Lifts Bandits to Second-Half Division Title

Davenport, Iowa – Spencer Nivens struck for a pair of two-run homers Saturday, as the Quad Cities River Bandits defeated the Beloit Sky Carp 5-3 and secured the Midwest League West’s second-half Division title at Modern Woodmen Park.

Nivens’ first blast came on Quad Cities’ first swing of the game. After Justin Johnson led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, the outfielder took Sky Carp starter Will Schomberg deep over the right-field wall for a 2-0 River Bandits’ advantage.

After Hunter Owen struck out six over 3.0-perfect innings, the Sky Carp broke into the run column against Hunter Patteson in the fourth and tied the game 2-2 with a two-run blast of their own, courtesy of Kemp Alderman.

The tie did not last long however, as Nivens returned to the plate again in the fifth and launched a second two-run shot off Schomberg. The homer, Nivens’ team-leading 20th of the year, tied Dayton’s Cam Collier for the second-most in the Midwest League (Chris Newell, 23).

Dustin Dickerson added to Quad Cities’ total, putting the Bandits ahead 5-2 with an RBI-single that officially knocked Schomberg out of the game after a 4.2-innings start.

After surrendering the fourth-inning homer, Patteson rebounded with a scoreless fifth, before turning the ball over to Nate Ackenhausen. The left-hander struck out a pair, earned his fourth hold, and extended his scoreless-inning streak to 9.0 with a clean sixth and seventh inning.

While Jesse Bergin (2.0 IP) and Edgar Sanchez (1.1 IP) kept Quad Cities bats’ off the board over the final third of the ballgame, the advantage was more than enough for Ben Sears, who surrendered an eighth-inning solo shot to Mark Coley II, but picked up a six-out save—the right-hander’s High-A-leading 15th of the season.

Patteson (3-4) struck out three in his winning effort for Quad Cities, while Schomberg (1-3) tallied seven, but was saddled with the loss.

The River Bandits conclude their six-game set against Beloit and the regular season tomorrow afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park, as they send Oscar Rayo (5-0, 2.26) to the hill opposite Ike Buxton (2-7, 4.94). First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.