Bandits Big First Inning Beats Wisconsin
DAVENPORT, IA – The Quad Cities River Bandits put Thursday night’s game away early. The team with the best record in the High-A Central League scored twelve runs on twelve hits, including three homers, beat Wisconsin 13-3 at Modern Woodmen Park. The River Bandits sent sixteen men to the plate
DAVENPORT, IA – The Quad Cities River Bandits put Thursday night’s game away early. The team with the best record in the High-A Central League scored twelve runs on twelve hits, including three homers, beat Wisconsin 13-3 at Modern Woodmen Park. The River Bandits sent sixteen men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning.
Click here for Thursday's Boxscore
Jeison Guzmán started the bottom of the first inning with a double. Nick Loftin followed with a single to center that was misplayed to allow Guzman to score the first run of the inning. There was a double and a strikeout to follow before Michael Massey drove in Loftin with a single. Eric Cole was next and he drove a three-run homer over the wall for a 5-0 lead.
Jake Means restarted the rally with a single. Wisconsin starting pitcher Justin Jarvis go the second out of the inning on a grounder to short, but walked the number nine hitter on four innings.
Guzmán was next and his high pop to left was lost in the twilight. What should have been the third out of the inning wound up as a two-run triple, extended the inning, and chased Jarvis from the game with Quad Cities leading 7-0.
Loftin greeted Wisconsin reliever John LaRossa with a two-run home run. The next two batters reached on a single and double. Then, Massey hit a three-run homer for a 12-0 lead.
Wisconsin (18-21) got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning. They loaded the bases on a Carlos Rodríguez double, a hit batsman and a walk. A wild pitch let Rodríguez score and a walk to David Hamilton reloaded the bases. One out later Je’Von Ward sent a slow grounder to third and the throw to first was wild to let two runs score. A walk to Thomas Dillard reloaded the bases again for the Rattlers, but Payton Gray entered the game as the fourth pitcher of the night for the River Bandits and struck out the next two batters to stop the rally in its tracks.
Quad Cities (25-13) added one more run in the bottom of the seventh. Guzmán doubled for his third extra-base hit of the night. The double by Guzmán was also the first hit for the River Bandits since the bottom of the first inning. A pair of grounders got Guzmán home with the final run of the game.
The Timber Rattlers had just two hits in the game, but stranded nine runners as they drew seven walks and were hit by two pitches. The quartet of Quad Cities pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts.
Game four of the series is Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park. Reese Olson (3-3, 4.19) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Zach Haake (2-1, 5.28) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 6:30pm. . Catch all of the action on AM 1280 WNAM starting with the pregame show at 6:10pm. The game will be available on internet audio and through MiLB.tv, too.