Friedrichs Dominates Quad Cities

BELOIT, Wisc.- On a night of increasingly harsh weather as the game progressed, the Snappers managed to fend off the River Bandits, winning 2-1. There were some stressful moments in the ninth inning, as the skies opened and delivered a torrential downpour upon Pohlman Field. However, Beloit fought through the conditions and made a winner out of Kyle Friedrichs (3-2, 1.25 ERA), who was spectacular on Tuesday night. He scattered four hits across eight shutout innings-- the longest start by a Beloit pitcher this season-- while walking none and striking out four. Beloit's opening day starter lowered his ERA to a miniscule 1.25 in posting the best performance by a Snapper thus far in 2016.

The Snappers' first run was a gift from Quad Cities, and it ended up being the decisive run of the contest. Chris Iriart led off the fourth inning with a single off of River Bandits starter Franklin Perez (0-1, 3.86 ERA). Iriart advanced to third following two groundouts, and Perez appeared to have a way out of the inning. However, prior to Jean Carlo Rodriguez's at-bat, Perez balked, giving Beloit an early 1-0 lead.

It appeared that run was all Friedrichs would need to make his dominant outing stand, but the Snappers gave him an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Ryan Howell's RBI single.

However, that run turned out to be very important for Beloit. The Snappers lifted Friedrichs after 88 pitches and sent Cody Kurz to the mound in the ninth inning for the save. Kurz did not have the luck Friedrichs had for the previous eight innings, however, as it began to pour in the ninth. The weather clearly had an impact on Beloit's defense, as Bobby Wernes reached on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Edwin Diaz to lead off the inning. Wernes advanced to third on a fly ball from Myles Straw, and then it looked like the wheels were beginning to fly off for Kurz. He threw a wild pitch during Osvaldo Duarte's at-bat, allowing Wernes to score from third and cut the Snappers' lead in half. Kurz rallied to strike out Duarte, but then walked Kyle Tucker on four pitches. Kurz recovered and induced an Anthony Hermelyn fly out to finish the game for his fifth save of the year.

The Quad Cities starter Perez, who happens to be the youngest player in the Midwest League at 18 years and 170 days old, deserved a better fate than he received. He tossed four innings of one-run ball, with his only blip on the radar being the run-scoring balk. Perez walked one and struck out three.

The Snappers will look to take the three-game series from the River Bandits tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT with Boomer Biegalski (4-0, 1.96 ERA) on the hill. Quad Cities will counter with Makay Nelson (0-0, 3.86 ERA). The Beloit Snappers are a member of the Midwest League and are a fourth year Class-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Stay tuned to the team website and social media for all up to date information. For ticket information, contact the Snappers' offices at 608-362-2272 or visit our website at www.snappersbaseball.com.