Quad Cities wins fourth straight, 3-1, over Timber Rattlers
Quad Cities (7-3 second half, 42-37 overall) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning against Wisconsin right-hander Chad Thompson (3-2). River Bandits third baseman Stephen Piscotty doubled to right-center field and on the same play, an error by the center fielder Mitch Haniger allowed Piscotty to move to third. A groundout by designated hitter Anthony Garcia scored Piscotty and was followed by a solo home run by right fielder David Medina to give the River Bandits a 2-0 lead.
A solo home run to deep left field by Wisconsin third baseman Brandon Macias off left-hander Dail Villanueva (5-4) brought the Timber Rattlers (5-5, 49-30) within 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning.
Villanueva (5-4) won his second straight start - both against Wisconsin - and threw six innings of one-run ball, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out two. In his two starts against Wisconsin in the last week, the left-hander turned in 13 innings of work and allowed just one earned run on six hits.
The River Bandits scored once more in the bottom of the fifth, when Garcia hit an RBI single that scored center fielder Nick Martini, who had walked to lead off the frame. With the base hit Garcia extended his hitting streak to 10 games, setting a new season high for Quad Cities.
Wisconsin right-hander Jacob Barnes entered in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, and set down nine straight Quad Cities hitters before issuing a two-out walk to Medina in the bottom of the eighth.
Quad Cities' leading hitter, left fielder Colin Walsh, was pulled from the game in the bottom of the third inning after being hit in the right forearm with a pitch from Chad Thompson. Neal Pritchard replaced Walsh in left field..
Quad Cities and Wisconsin continue their three-game series Monday at 7 p.m. Right-hander Willy Paulino (2-5) is scheduled to start for Quad Cities, and right-hander Matt Miller (6-5) will start for the Timber Rattlers.
UP NEXT: Back-to-back nights of fireworks at Modern Woodmen Park start on Monday, July 2, when all regular tickets are just $5 for the 7 p.m. game against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. There are $2 drink specials on another Buck Night with a full menu of $1 concession items presented by Klement's and 97X. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at 563-322-6348 (563-3-BANDIT) 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: After four years of ballpark improvements, the River Bandits and the City of Davenport last summer unveiled some of the most impressive enhancements to Modern Woodmen Park yet. A brand new, state of the art, high definition 20' x 35' video board went live on June 7, and the newly enclosed glass Sky Deck on the suite level of Modern Woodmen Park was completed last August. Those improvements, in addition to new flood protection, a new front plaza, and a new parking lot directly across the street from the ballpark, are quickly making Modern Woodmen Park one of the premier facilities in all of Minor League Baseball. More improvements are scheduled for this coming season.