Squires Homers Twice, Bandits Drop Second-Straight to Wisconsin
Davenport, Iowa – Brett Squires lifted off for a pair of home runs on Wednesday night, but the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers held on to defeat the Quad Cities River Bandits 5-4 at Modern Woodmen Park. The first of Squires’ two homers helped the Bandits erase a 2-0 deficit and gave
Davenport, Iowa – Brett Squires lifted off for a pair of home runs on Wednesday night, but the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers held on to defeat the Quad Cities River Bandits 5-4 at Modern Woodmen Park.
The first of Squires’ two homers helped the Bandits erase a 2-0 deficit and gave Quad Cities its first lead of the ballgame, as the first baseman followed Jack Pineda’s fourth-inning RBI single by taking Mark Manfredi deep on a two-strike pitch in the fifth for a 3-2 Bandits advantage.
The lead, however, would not last long, as after Quad Cities’ starter Ben Kudrna completed his second quality start of the year—tossing 6.0 innings of two-run ball—the Rattlers immediately loaded the bases against Brandon Johnson in the seventh. Wisconsin then ended the right-handers 12.0-inning scoreless streak on Terence Doston’s game-tying sacrifice fly. One batter later, Luis Lara drove in a pair with a two-run single and put Wisconsin back in front 5-3.
One frame later, Squires left the yard for his second time against Manfredi and knocked the southpaw out of the game, trimming the Rattlers’ lead to 5-4. The effort marks Squires’ second career multi-homer game and the former Oklahoma Sooner’s first as a River Bandit.
Despite the power display, the run would be Quad Cities’ last of the game, as the Wisconsin bullpen would close out the contest over the ensuing six outs. Aaron Rund (4) earned a hold tossing a scoreless eighth after taking over for Manfredi, while Yerlin Rodriguez (5) earned the save, stranding the tying run aboard in the ninth.
Although he allowed a season-high three runs over his 3.0-inning night, Manfredi (1-0) earned the win for Wisconsin, while Johnson (3-1) surrendered his first runs since September 3, 2023 and was saddled with the loss for Quad Cities, allowing three earned over 2.0 innings.
The River Bandits will look to snap their second three-game losing streak of the season on Thursday and will send Steven Zobac (1-1, 3.52) to the hill opposite Wisconsin’s Will Rudy (1-1, 4.58). First pitch at Modern Woodmen Park is set for 6:30 p.m.