BANDITS DENIED SWEEP IN SHUTOUT LOSS MONDAY

BELOIT, Wisc. - The Quad Cities River Bandits were blanked, 1-0, by the Beloit Snappers on a dreary Monday night at Pohlman Field. The Bandits were held to a season-low two hits, going 0-for-10 with RISP in the game. Ronel Blanco allowed one run in 4.2 innings for his first start of the year but suffered the loss. Marcos Almonte and Carmen Benedetti each doubled for the only hits for the offense.  

Quad Cities (33-29) went 5-2 on their seven-game road swing after the loss, taking three of four from Beloit (31-32) in the wraparound weekend set. The River Bandits got a runner to third base with less than two outs in each of the first two innings but could not push a run across. Beloit loaded the bases on two walks and a single to start the second and a double-play ball allowed the game's only run to score.  

Benedetti doubled to lead off the eighth and advanced to third on a deep flyout by Ray Henderson, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat. That double ended a string of five straight innings in which the Bandits sent the minimum to the plate against Snappers starter Zack Erwin (W, 1-0) and Xavier Altamorano (S, 2) who combined to shut out the Bandits Monday.  

Two ninth-inning walks had the potential go-ahead run on base for Quad Cities, but again the Bandits could not capitalize. They trail Kane County by 1.5 games for the Wild Card spot in the West and are only two games behind the Cedar Rapids Kernels for the division lead with seven games remaining in the first half of the season. The Bandits begin a three-game series with the Kernels at Modern Woodmen Park Tuesday, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. CT. Midwest League All-Star Carson LaRue (7-1, 2.13) gets the start for Quad Cities against Cedar Rapids' RHP Sean Poppen (4-1, 2.63). It's a Military Tuesday and Dew-for-Tuesday at the ballpark. You can join Jake Levy and Connor Onion for the broadcast, beginning at 6:20 on 1170 AM K-BOB, riverbandits.com and the TuneIn app; simulcast on MiLB.TV.