River Bandits Strike for 14 Runs, Best Kernels 14-8

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Quad Cities scored five runs in the top of the third inning Saturday afternoon and never looked back, exploding for 14 runs in a 14-8 win over Cedar Rapids.

For the second straight day, the River Bandits took a 5-0 lead. In the top of the third, a Tyriq Kemp single, followed by a walk and a double steal, put two in scoring position before a Blake Mitchell sacrifice fly opened the scoring to make it 1-0. After a hit-by-pitch put Jose Cerice aboard and runners on the corners, Quad Cities doubled its lead on a double steal of second and home. A Luke Pelzer walk put two back on the bases and a wild pitch plated Cerice to make it 3-0. Back-to-back RBI hits from Austin Charles and Derlin Figueroa to close the inning extended the lead to 5-0.

Those runs were support for Quad Cities starter David Shields, who went five no-hit innings with eight strikeouts compared to just one walk.

The River Bandits grew the lead in the fifth. An Asbel Gonzalez single put a man on for Mitchell, who crushed a two-run home run to right to bring the lead to 7-0. After a groundout, Pelzer singled in front of Charles, who belted the second two-run home run in the inning to make it 9-0.

In the sixth, Mitchell, who walked, scored all the way from first on a Pelzer RBI double to push the advantage to 10-0.

With Shields out of the game, the Kernels got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Khadim Diaw, who took ball four to plate the first Cedar Rapids run. With the bases still loaded, the next batter, Brandon Winokur, doubled to right to bring in two and cut the deficit to 10-3. After another hit-by-pitch re-loaded the bases, an Andy Lugo fielder’s choice scored a fourth run of the inning to make it 10-4.

The River Bandits respond. Figueroa led off the top of the seventh with a solo home run to right. A single, followed by a fielder’s choice and a walk, put two on for Gonzalez, who plated both with an RBI base hit to put Quad Cities back on top by nine, 13-4.

Cedar Rapids got four runs back in the bottom of the seventh. A pair of walks put two on for Diaw, who singled to left to drive in a run. A Miguel Briceno walk loaded the bases for Jacob McCombs, who drove in all three with a three-run double to lower the River Bandits' lead to 13-8.

But that was the closest the Kernels would get. Figueroa homered for the second time in as many innings in the top of the eighth to put the River Bandits on top 14-8, the score that would be the final.

The loss drops Cedar Rapids to 7-7 on the season and to 2-3 in the series against Quad Cities. The six-game set concludes Sunday at 1:05. Nolan Santos gets the start opposite Justin Lamkin.