Home Runs Bury Snappers In Double Loss Wednesday

The Beloit Snappers (58-55) disappointed in two games to open against the Quad Cities River Bandits (65-50), dropping a continuation game 2-1 and then the series opener 8-2 at Pohlman Field with an attendance of 737.

Game one of the day was a continuation of the Snappers and Bandits game back on July 3^rd at Pohlman Field. That day in the sixth inning, the game was suspended due to a lighting issue in left field.
The score was tied 1-1 at the time of the suspension with the Snappers coming to bat. The Snappers lone run came on an RBI triple from Mickey McDonald.
Bryce Conley took the mound and pitched the final three innings for the Snappers in the first game. In the top of the ninth, Quad Cities David Hensley hit a solo home run off the left field scoreboard to take a 2-1 lead.
River Bandits pitcher Bryan Abreu earned his first win of the season, going the final four innings and surrendering three hits and striking out five Snappers.
With that loss, the Snappers split their four-game, split series with the River Bandits. The Snappers dropped the first two at home but won the last two games on the road at Davenport.
Homeruns sunk the Snappers in the later game. In the fifth inning, Scott Schreiber knocked in his third homer of the season, a solo home run to break a 1-1 tie.
One inning later with the score tied 2-2, Marty Costes golfed a ball to left and over the fence with a runner on to make it 4-2. It was also Costes' third home run of the season.
The River Bandits never looked back. The fourth overall homer for the River Bandits on the day came in the top of the eighth. With two runners on, Jonathan Lacroix got in on the action with a three-run homer to left to extend the Bandits lead to 7-2. A sac fly from Shaver in the ninth pushed the lead to the final score of 8-2
Game two saw Quad Cities get off to a good start. They scored the game's first run in the first inning, an RBI groundout to first that let Colton Shaver come home and score sliding, making it 1-0 of Snappers starter Jhenderson Hurtado. The Snappers, after both losses, are now 21-41 when the opponent scores first.
The Snappers tied the game in the fourth when Lazaro Armenteros came home to score on a throwing error from Shaver off the bat of Beck to make it 1-1. They tied it again in the fifth on a Jesus Lage sac fly to make it 2-2.
Hurtado struggled throughout, going just 4.1 innings, giving up two runs and surrendering a career high five walks and four in the first two innings. It was his first appearance this season as a Snapper since being called up on August 4^th and he earned his first loss of the season. He made one appearance last season as a Snapper.
River Bandits starter Chad Donato got the win, going five complete innings, giving up one earned run and two overall and striking out three Snappers.
Even with both losses today, the Snappers have still won 21 of their last 33 games. They moved to 20-13 on the season in series openers and a Jack Meggs double in the fifth gave the Snappers an extra-base hit in 41 of their last 46 games.
The Snappers will pick up game two of this three-game series on Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Starting for the Snappers will be right-hander Jean Ruiz (4-8, 4.19). Opposing Ruiz for the River Bandits will be right-hander Luis Garcia (4-2, 3.35).
Wednesday is a Two Dollar Thursday promotion. Hot dogs, brats, pizza, 12 oz. domestic draft beer and fountain soft
drinks can be purchased for just $2. Presented by your friends at Advia Credit Union.
The Beloit Snappers are a member of the Midwest League and have been the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics since 2013. For more ticket information, contact the Snappers office at (608) 362-2272 or on our website, www.snappersbaseball.com.