Roberto Pena ties a career high with four hits and leads Quad Cities with three RBIs

GENEVA, Ill. (JULY 5, 2013) - Catcher Roberto Pena tied a career high with four hits, and right-hander Jordan Jankowski was the first Quad Cities River Bandits pitcher to toss seven innings in a start this season, but the team could not hold a lead for more than a half-inning in an 8-7 road loss to the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark Friday night.

The River Bandits (10-5 second half, 48-36 overall) quickly lost a 1-0, first-inning lead and a 3-2, sixth-inning lead but took their largest advantage, 6-3, into the bottom of the eighth inning to put Jankowski in line for a win. Right-hander Juri Perez allowed two walks and a hit within the first four batters to load the bases with one out. Quad Cities right-hander John Neely entered and proceeded to allow all three inherited runners to score with a walk, hit batter, and a game-tying single by third baseman Giuseppe Pappacio.

In a 6-6 tie with one out and the bases loaded, Cougars second baseman Gioskar Amaya dropped a hit just past first base down the right-field line and reached second base for a two-run double that gave Kane County an 8-6 lead. Neely (2-5) got the next two batters but was charged with two earned runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning.

Trailing, 8-6, in the ninth inning, Quad Cities assembled a two-out rally against right-hander Justin Amlung. Designated hitter Jesse Wierzbicki was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on defensive indifference and scored on Pena's third RBI and fourth single - matching his first career four-hit game Aug. 27, 2011 with Lexington. But left fielder Dan Gulbransen grounded to second base for the final out.

The River Bandits took their first lead when center fielder Teoscar Hernandez hit the team's first leadoff home run of the season against Cougars left-hander Brian Smith, who set down the next 10 batters in order. The Cougars answered against Jankowski with center fielder Albert Almora's one-out triple and first baseman Dan Vogelbach's two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.

The score remained 2-1 in favor of Kane County (4-11, 34-47) until the sixth inning, when River Bandits right fielder Jordan Scott drew a leadoff walk and scored on shortstop Carlos Correa's game-tying double to left-center field that chased Smith. Right-hander Lendy Castillo entered and allowed Pena's go-ahead single with one out to give Quad Cities a 3-2 lead. But Almora slapped a game-tying home run to left field on Jankowski's first pitch of the bottom of the sixth innning.

In a 3-3 tie starting the eighth inning, Castillo walked Correa, Wierzbicki singled, and Pena hit his second go-ahead RBI single of the night. Two batters later, first baseman Jobduan Morales grounded a two-run double up the first-base line. Castillo walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out, but Hernandez grounded into an inning-ending double play to keep the River Bandits' lead at 6-3.

Quad Cities has lost its last four games in Kane County after winning the first five meetings at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. River Bandits right-hander Mike Hauschild (5-1) will try to stop the skid against Cougars right-hander Jose Rosario (0-4) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Shortstop wins second straight monthly award, while left-hander is first-time Pitcher of the Month

DAVENPORT, Iowa (JULY 4, 2013) - Shortstop Carlos Correa is the Quad Cities River Bandits Player of the Month for June, and left-handed pitcher Colton Cain is the team's Pitcher of the Month, the Houston Astros announced on Wednesday.

The Houston Astros Player Development Department named a Pitcher and Player of the Month at each of their five in-season minor league affiliates, including four full-season affiliates and the Dominican Summer League club. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team. Correa has won back-to-back Player of the Month awards.

Correa, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, led the River Bandits in June with a .370 batting average, 100 at-bats, 37 hits, 19 runs and 51 total bases. The 18-year-old tied for the team lead with 25 games played and 15 RBIs. In June, he also had 12 multi-hit games, two home runs and had a team-leading .510 slugging percentage. His current .327 batting average places him third in the Midwest League and second among the Astros full-season minor league players. Correa also had two hits while starting at shortstop for the Western Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game June 18 in Dayton, Ohio. On Monday, the Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, native was named to the World Team roster for the 2013 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game to be played July 14 at Citi Field in New York.

Cain, acquired by the Astros in a July 24, 2012, trade with Pittsburgh, went 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in June and led the pitching staff with a 0.91 walks-plus-hits-per-inning-pitched (WHIP) ratio. The 22-year-old Waxahachie, Tex., native tossed 23 innings with 16 strikeouts across six appearances, including three starts. He held opponents to a .177 batting average - the lowest against any Quad Cities pitcher who threw at least nine innings in June.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (JULY 1, 2013) - Quad Cities River Bandits shortstop Carlos Correa was selected by fans for the final roster spot on the World Team roster for the 2013 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, set for Sunday, July 14, at Citi Field in New York. The Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, native is the first position player to make the game in the same year he appeared for the Midwest League club.

For the first time in the All-Star Futures Game's 15-year history, fans determined the final player on both the U.S. and World Team rosters by casting their votes in the All-Star Sunday Futures Finalists ballot. Major League Baseball announced Correa's selection Monday afternoon. He is one of three current Midwest Leaguers selected to the game, as he joins Beloit pitcher Michael Ynoa, of the Oakland Athletics, on the World Team; Bowling Green pitcher Taylor Guerreri, of the Tampa Bay Rays, is on the U.S. Team.

The 18-year-old Correa was the No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Astros in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He was the youngest player in the 2013 Midwest League All-Star Game, which he started at shortstop for the Western Division All-Stars, June 18 at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio. He is currently third in the Midwest League with a .323 batting average and fifth with a .408 on-base percentage. He is also third in batting average among Astros minor leaguers with full-season affiliates. Rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Astros minor league system entering the season, he was the Quad Cities Player of the Month in May, when he assembled a career-high 10-game hitting streak, held a .349 average and had 18 RBIs in 22 games. In his final 21 games in June, Correa hit for a .422 average with two home runs, 13 RBIs and a .578 slugging percentage.

This season, two former River Bandits - both from the 2011 Midwest League Championship team - have already been selected for the All-Star Futures Game. Outfielder Oscar Taveras and infielder Kolten Wong will play for the World and U.S. Teams, respectively, for a second consecutive year.

The last player selected for the All-Star Futures Game in the same season he played for Quad Cities was St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez in 2011. Martinez was promoted to the advanced Class-A Palm Beach Cardinals before being named to the World roster for the game in Phoenix, Ariz. He threw one scoreless inning in a 6-4 U.S. victory.

Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller was the last River Bandit selected for the All-Star Futures Game while on the Quad Cities roster. Miller pitched for the U.S. in the 2010 game in Anaheim, Calif., and worked two-thirds of a scoreless inning in a 9-1 U.S. victory.

The SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which is now in its 15th year, features the top Minor League prospects competing in a nine-inning contest as part of Taco Bell All-Star Sunday. The U.S. Team leads the all-time series, 8-6. The game will begin at 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time July 14 and can be viewed live on ESPN2, ESPN2 HD and MLB.com.

UP NEXT: Monday is First Responders Night, when all police, fire and EMS personnel can show a badge or credential at the "Suites" entrance for a $10 package including a bleacher ticket and a hot dog and soda voucher. For $15, fans can purchase a wristband for all-you-can-eat hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and popcorn on Munchie Monday presented by 97X. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at 563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 112 feet over the playing field, is planned for next spring, along with a carousel and other new games and attractions. This season, the team just unveiled a new 300-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, a Mediacom Frog Hopper, and a number of new bounce houses. The team also boasts a new major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, and fans can see last year's No. 1 overall draft pick, Carlos Correa, as well as first-round draft choice Lance McCullers. The Astros also just made the very first selection in the major league draft June 6 and could have top pick Mark Appel play in the Quad Cities. With new rides, new attractions, new improvements, a new affiliate and future major league stars, the second half of this season is one every fan will not want to miss!

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Quad Cities extends winning streak to four games, wins 10th of 12 meetings with Kane County

DAVENPORT, Iowa (JUNE 22, 2013) - Jesse Wierzbicki waited until his sixth and final at-bat in the 11^th inning Friday night to extend several personal and team streaks, but he delivered a walk-off RBI single for the Quad Cities River Bandits, who completed a rally from a 5-0, seventh-inning deficit for a 6-5 win over the Kane County Cougars in front of 4,077 at Modern Woodmen Park.

The River Bandits (3-0 second half, 41-31 overall) won their fourth straight game and defeated Kane County (0-3, 30-39) for the fifth time in as many games at Modern Woodmen Park. For a second consecutive game, Quad Cities had 15 hits, with shortstop Carlos Correa and left fielder Ruben Sosa each collecting four hits to lead all players. Correa laced a one-out triple inside the first-base line with one out in the 11^th inning before Wierzbicki extended a seven-game hitting streak and 21 game on-base streak with a single to right-center field against Stephen Perakslis (1-3), who has suffered each of his losses this season against Quad Cities.

Quad Cities held Kane County to just four hits, and left-hander Colton Cain no-hit the visitors while walking one batter in the first four innings. In the fifth inning, however, he walked Cougars third baseman Jeimer Candelario, and first baseman Rock Shoulders doubled to left field for his team's first hit. With the infield in and one out, right fielder Reggie Golden hit a ball off the glove of shortstop Carlos Correa that went into shallow center field and brought in two runs for a 2-0 lead. Cain allowed two hits and two earned runs while walking two and striking out four in five innings. Kane County extended the lead with home runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Center fielder Albert Almora drove a Jamaine Cotton pitch out to left field for a two-run shot in the sixth, and Shoulders led off the seventh with his league-high 14^th homer and a 5-0 lead. The Cougars did not record a hit the rest of the game.

After failing to score in the first six innings against left-hander Michael Heesch, the River Bandits found their offense in the seventh against right-hander Armando Rivero, making his Minor League Baseball debut. Designated Brian Blasik drew a leadoff walk, and second baseman Austin Elkins homered for the second straight game to make it 5-2. Sosa, center fielder Brett Phillips and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez each singled to close within 5-3, and catcher Roberto Pena's two-out infield single trimmed the gap to 5-4.

In the ninth inning, Phillips drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a sacrifice and scored the tying run when Golden bobbled Correa's one-out single to right-center field. Right-hander Juri Perez (2 2/3 innings), and right-hander Gera Sanchez (1 1/3 innings) combined to no-hit the Cougars for the final four innings, though Quad Cities pitchers matched a season high with six walks.

Saturday's victory also means The Captain's Table at 4801 River Drive in Moline will offer The Captain's Table Victory Discount on Sunday, June 23. Anyone who mentions the River Bandits victory can receive a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of two lunches or dinners with beverages on Sunday, June 23.

The River Bandits and Cougars will play the series finale at 5 p.m. Sunday, when Quad Cities looks for its third sweep of Kane County this season. River Bandits All-Star right-hander Lance McCullers (3-4) will start against Cougars right-hander Felix Pena (2-1).