River Bandits pour it on in series finale
Matt Williams restarted his hitting streak that was snapped Saturday evening, leading off the contest with a double to right. Following a Nick Martini walk. Juan Castillo singled to left, plating Williams and moving Martini to third. Colin Walsh then hit a double of his own, scoring Martini and Castillo. Walsh then advanced on a deep fly to center, but was stranded at third.
The Kernels answered back with a run of their own in the first, but failed to put together a sustainable rally against River Bandits' starter Sam Gaviglio (1-0), who lasted six innings, allowing the lone run in the first, scattering four hits. Ethan Cole, who pitched two shutout innings and Heath Wyatt who pitched the ninth, relieved him.
A David Medina single in the third scored the fourth River Bandits run, and the Quad Cities offense broke out again in the fifth, scoring three more runs.
Michael Johnson, the Cedar Rapids starter, was chased after only four innings of work, allowing four runs on six hits. The Kernels bullpen did not fair any better, allowing seven runs on ten hits, while walking four batters in five innings of work.
Martini led off the fifth with a single, and then stole second. Castillo drew a walk before Colin Walsh hit his team-best third home run of the season. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the eighth. Tyler Rahmatulla doubled to right and Anthony Garcia drove him in with a triple. Garcia scored on a groundout by Roberto Reyes. Luis Mateo singled, ending the night for Eswarlin Jimenez.
Ty Kelley came on in relief for the Kernels, and was greeted with a single by Matt Williams before Martini hit into an inning-ending double play.
The River Bandits tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth, giving them their highest run total of the season. The Quad Cities bullpen was once again effective, giving first year manager Luis Aguayo three shutout innings, allowing only three baserunners.