Bees nip Bandits 2-1
BURLINGTON, Iowa - The Quad Cities River Bandits' offense mustered just five hits in a 2-1 defeat to the Burlington Bees Thursday at Community Field.
The Bees took the lead when Kody Eaves led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run off of Quad Cities starter Michael Feliz.
Throughout the rest of his four-inning outing, Feliz battled control issues but was successfully able to strand eight Burlington baserunners, with the Bees leaving the bases loaded in both the second and fourth innings. Feliz scattered three hits and four walks with six strikeouts in his four frames.
The River Bandits were able to tie the game in the sixth. Tanner Mathis led off with an infield single. With Mathis running from first, Chan-Jong Moon punched a single to left., bringing Mathis around to third. Burlington outfielder Mike Fish bobbled the ball, which allowed Moon to reach second. After Brett Phillips struck out, Brian Holberton's groundout to second scored Mathis from third and tied the game at one.
With the score still knotted in the bottom of the eighth, Angel Rosa reached second on an error by Quad Cities third baseman Austin Elkins. Rosa moved to third on Exicardo Cayones' sacrifice bunt and then scored the game's decisive run on a wild pitch by Quad Cities reliever Tyler Brunnemann. Brunnemann (0-2) worked two innings out of the bullpen, giving up the lone unearned run with a walk and strikeout to suffer the loss.
Burlington's Trevor Foss (2-4) worked two shutout frames with two strikeouts and a hit allowed to pick up the win and Alan Busenitz tossed a perfect ninth for his eighth save.
The loss dropped the Bandits to 30-29, with Burlington's 30-28 record bettering Quad Cities in the standings with 10 games to go in the first half of the season. The River Bandits will try to salvage the three-game set tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park at 6 p.m. Saturday with a Craig Biggio Bobblehead Giveaway presented by Prairie Farms and FOX18 for the first 1,500 fans. Tickets are available at riverbandits.com. To order any of the ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having just been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, 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 110 feet over the playing field, is opening in May, along with a carousel, a new ride called a "Drop and Twist," an expanded 300-foot long zip line, and many other new games and attractions. In 2013, the team unveiled a new 220-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. The team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, just saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.