Harry’s Walk-Off Base Hit Leads Bunnies Past River Bandits 6-5

Cedar Rapids, IA - With two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning, Jay Harry delivered a base hit into right field scoring the game-winning run from second base as Cedar Rapids slides past Quad Cites 6-5.

In the first matchup between the two teams this season, it didn’t take long for Quad Cities to get on the board first. Carson Roccaforte singled to begin the game, and after Carter Jensen was hit by a pitch and a wild pitch moved him to third, he scored on a Kale Emshoff RBI single to put the River Bandits on top 1-0.

Playing tonight as the Bunnies, it didn’t take long for Cedar Rapids to respond. Luke Keaschall reached on an error to begin the game, and after a wild pitch advanced him to second, he scored on a Rubel Cespedes RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the second, the Bunnies grabbed their first lead of the day. With one out, three straight singles by Harry, Jose Salas, and Agustin Ruiz produced a run, and three batters later, a Ricardo Olivar two-run single produced two more as Cedar Rapids hopped on top 4-1.

Trailing by three, Quad Cities rallied to tie it in the fourth. With two on and two out, Jack Pineda made it a one-run game with a two-run double. A batter later, he came home to tie the game at 4-4 on a Justin Johnson RBI base hit.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Agustin Ruiz put the Bunnies back on top. With two outs, Salas walked and stole second base, getting in scoring position for Ruiz, who dropped in an RBI double to put Cedar Rapids back ahead 5-4.

Down to their final three outs in the top of the ninth, the River Bandits again rallied to tie it up again. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out for Trevor Werner who tied it at 5-5 with a sacrifice fly.

After the Bunnies went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning, A.J. Labas came on out of the Cedar Rapids pen and pitched a scoreless top of the tenth inning. With the game still tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the tenth Willie Joe Garry represented the winning run on second base to start the inning. After a walk and two outs, two were on for Jay Harry who smashed a base hit into right field to score the game-winning run for Cedar Rapids to take game one of the series over Quad Cities 6-5.

The win is the Bunnies' sixth straight home victory and improves CR to 19-14 on the season. Game two of the six-game series is set for tomorrow at 12:05 with Andrew Morris on the mound for Cedar Rapids opposite Ben Kudrna.