Strong Pitching Leads Bandits to Third-Straight Win Over Kernels

Davenport, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits allowed just three hits on Saturday, as they beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 4-1 at Modern Woodmen Park.

The Kernels would use a pair of two-out hits to take a 1-0 first-inning lead, but Kevin Maitan’s RBI-single would plate the club’s lone run and wind up their final hit until the eighth inning.

While Quad Cities’ starter Ethan Bosacker would rebound to face just two over the minimum in the final four innings of his start, Trevor Werner’s two-run double against Ricky Castro put the Bandits ahead 2-1 in the third.

Cedar Rapids’ right-hander pitched 4.0 innings in relief of starter Connor Prielipp—who worked 2.0-scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his first Kernels start of the season—and saw the Bandits break back into the run column in the sixth, taking a 4-1 lead on Shervyen Newton’s RBI-groundout and Omar Hernandez’s run-scoring single.

Although the Kernels only picked up one hit, they drew a combined five walks against the trio of Connor Fenlong (1.1 IP, hold), Chazz Martinez (1.2 IP, hold), and Ben Sears (1.0 IP, save), but the Quad Cities’ relievers kept the three-run lead intact, extending the bullpen’s scoreless-inning streak to 10.0 frames.

Bosacker (2-1) earned the win for Bandits, striking out four and completing a 5.0-inning start for the third consecutive outing, while Castro (0-1) was saddled with the loss in his High-A debut, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits, one walk, with two strikeouts.

Sears (10) took home his team-leading tenth save of the season, working a scoreless ninth.

Quad Cities will look to secure a win of the six-game series tomorrow afternoon and sends Frank Mozzicato (5-7, 3.24) to the hill against Cedar Rapids’ C.J. Culpepper (2-1, 3.26). First pitch at Modern Woodmen Park is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.