RIVER BANDITS FORCE EXTRAS BUT FALL TO KERNELS
Hermelyn ties game with hit in ninth, but Bandits lose in 10 innings
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- On a wet afternoon in Davenport, Iowa, the Quad Cities River Bandits forced extra innings against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but LaMonte Wade’s run in the tenth gave the Kernels a 3-2 win to sweep the season-opening series from the River Bandits.
The River Bandits have now lost four straight games to start the 2016 season. Osvaldo Duarte had a three-hit performance in the series final. The infielder is now 5-for-9 to in two games this season. Anthony Hermelyn and Christian Correa also added multi-hit days at the plate in the contest.
Tied heading into the ninth, Chris Paul reached on a single and worked his way to second on a throwing error from pitcher Andrew Thome. A throwing error from Antonio Nunez kept the inning alive and allowed Paul to score from third, giving Cedar Rapids (4-0) a 2-1 lead. The unearned run was the only damage done off Thome in 3.2 innings. He allowed six hits without a walk or strikeout.
Trying to force extra baseball, the River Bandits (0-4) took advantage of a triple from Pat Porter. The next batter, designated hitter Hermelyn, used his second hit of the game to tie the contest. After the Kernels regained the lead in the top of the tenth, the Bandits put the rally caps on but came up a little short. Duarte and Daz Cameron led off with hits, but Kyle Tucker grounded into a double play and Dexture McCall struck out to give Cedar Rapids its fourth win in as many games.
After five scoreless innings, the Kernels scored the game’s first run on a Max Murphy single to score Rafael Valera. The River Bandits countered in the bottom half of the sixth. Nunez singled to lead off the Bandits offensive half and scored on a Tucker ground out. Tucker now has three RBIs on the year.
Matt Bower tossed a strong 5 1/3 innings in his 2016 debut earning a no-decision. The southpaw struck out four while allowing one run on four hits. Cedar Rapids’ starter, Sam Clay, also took a no-decision in a six-inning effort. The lefty gave up one unearned run on five hits while striking out seven.
Nick Anderson (1-0) blew a save but picked up the win for the Kernels. The righty gave up four hits and one run in two innings of work. Ralph Garza (0-1) took the loss, allowing the tenth inning run on one hit and one walk.
The River Bandits travel to Peoria, Illinois for a three-game set against the Chiefs startingMonday. First pitch at Dozer Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. Manager Omar Lopez sends RHPKevin McCanna (0-0) to the mound against Peoria RHP Brennan Leitao. (0-0) You can join Jake Levy on the River Bandits Broadcast Network, starting at 6:15 p.m. with the Lloyd Agencies pregame show.
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- The Quad Cities River Bandits opened their home season at Modern Woodman Park against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,704 fans. Errors doomed the River Bandits as three mistakes led to two unearned runs and the Kernels took the game, 6-2 Astros’ fourth-ranked prospect Kyle Tucker went 2-for-4 in the contest, as did shortstop Osvaldo Duarte.
Ryan Deemes and Ralph Garza looked solid in relief appearances for the Bandits (0-3). The right-handers did not allow a base runner and struck out three in the final three innings.
Before the River Bandits came to the plate, the Kernels (3-0) took a one-run lead with the help of two errors. Rafael Valera reached on a throwing error from Bobby Wernes and traveled to scoring position thanks to a throwing error from Chris Murphy. Valera scored on a ground out from Max Murphy later in the 1st.
Cedar Rapids added two more runs in the third as the first three batters reached on base hits, including a two-RBI triple from Valera.
The Bandits found the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the third. Pat Porter knocked in Johnny Sewald on a fielder’s choice to make it a 3-1 contest. Sewald has now hit safely and scored a run in each of the River Bandits first three games.
Sam Gibbons (1-0) picked up a victory for the Kernels in his first start of 2016, tossing five innings of one-run ball while striking out four. Murphy (0-1) took the loss in a 4 1/3-inning start for Quad Cities. The righty allowed four runs, but only two earned while striking out four.
The Kernels would counter with three runs between the fifth and sixth innings. Max Murphy reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored when J.J. Fernandez took advantage of the second throwing error from Wernes in the contest. Sean Miller and Valera crossed home in the sixth thanks to a bases-clearing double from LaMonte Wade, giving the Kernels a 6-1 lead.
The Bandits cut into Cedar Rapids’ lead in the 7th. Duarte tripled to lead off the bottom half of the frame and was drove in off the bat of Astros’ fifth-ranked prospect Daz Cameron, making it a 6-2 game. John Curtiss tossed a scoreless ninth inning, allowing just one walk before striking out the side to finish off the victory for the Kernels.
The River Bandits will look to left-hander Matt Bower to bring the Quad Cities its first victory in 2016. The Kernels counter with fellow southpaw Sam Clay. First pitch at Modern Woodmen Park is at 1:15 p.m. with gates opening at 12:15 p.m. If you can't get to the game, join Jake Levy and Lance Ragland on the River Bandits Broadcast Network, starting at 1:00 p.m. with the Lloyd Agencies pregame show.
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The River Bandits offense was held in check Friday night, falling 6-2 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels took both home games in the four-game, home-and-home series. The Astros’ two top-five prospects in the Midwest League, No. 4 Kyle Tucker and No. 5 Daz Cameron, each had RBIs in the loss. Another top prospect, No. 12 Albert Abreu, made his first appearance of the season and picked up seven strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief.
River Bandits (0-2) hitters were struck out 12 times by Cedar Rapids (2-0) pitching. The Bandits were held to just four hits, while the Kernels took advantage of six wild pitches thrown by the Bandits pitchers to score six runs on just five hits.
It couldn’t have been a better beginning to Jose Hernandez’s first River Bandits start. He struck out the side in order in the first, all three looking. But then Hernandez (0-1) ran into trouble over the next two frames.
Max Murphy singled and Zander Wiel doubled to lead off the second. J.J. Fernandez broke the scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly to deep right field and Wiel would later score on a wild pitch. The next inning Murphy tripled home Rafael Valera, who led off the inning with a three-bagger of his own. Wiel followed up with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home the fourth run for the Kernels.
The River Bandits got their two runs in the fifth. Antonio Nunez and Johnny Sewald led off the inning with singles and both advanced on a wild pitch, setting up Cameron for his sacrifice fly and Tucker for the RBI ground out to cut it to 4-2 Kernels through five.
That was all the damage Quad Cities could muster off Kernels starter Andro Cutura. Cutura (1-0) struck out eight batters through five innings, surrendering two runs on three hits and three walks.
Abreu took over in the sixth and struck out the side in his first inning of work, but four wild pitches led to two unearned runs coming across in the seventh inning to help the Kernels pull away. Abreu went 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit and the two unearned runs while striking out seven on the 12 batters he faced.
The River Bandits will try to get on the winning track in their home opener Saturday at Modern Woodmen Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT and gates open at 12:15 with fans receiving free magnet schedules and pennants, courtesy of Mediacom. RHP Chris Murphy (0-0) takes the hill for Quad Cities against RHP Sam Gibbons (0-0) for the Kernels. If you can’t get to the game join Jake Levy and Lance Ragland on the River Bandits Broadcast Network, starting at 1:00 p.m. with the Lloyd Agencies pregame show.
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