Bandits Grab Opener from Chiefs 3-2

The Quad Cities River Bandits opened a big series against the Peoria Chiefs with a 3-2 victory on Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park. With the win, the River Bandits gained sole possession of first place in the Western Division.
The River Bandits grabbed an early lead in the first inning. Jonathan Arauz singled with one out to become the Bandits first baserunner. He would race all the way around the bases to score on a two-out RBI triple by Miguelangel Sierra.
The lead was doubled in the second stanza. Michael Papierski worked a leadoff walk against Peoria starter Evan Guillory. He moved to second on a wild pitch and then went to third on a bouncer off the bat of Jonathan Lacroix. Roman Garcia drove Papierski in with a single past the shortstop and into left field to make it 2-0.

In Peoria's half of the fifth inning, each of the first three hitters to face Bandits starter Peter Solomon came up with base hits. The third of the hits, notched by Jose Martinez, drove in a run and cut the Bandits lead to 2-1. Solomon rebounded to strand the remaining runners with a strikeout and double play.
The Bandits scored one run, but missed an opportunity to do further damage in the sixth. Arauz started the frame with a triple into the left center gap. Corey Julks joined him on base with a walk. Sierra came to the plate and poked a base hit into right, scoring Arauz to give the River Bandits a 3-1 cushion. The bases became loaded with still no outs after an infield single from Jake Adams, but the Bandits could never tally again. Two infield pop ups and a strikeout allowed the Chiefs to limit the damage.
Against Tyler Ivey, Peoria closed to within one in the seventh. Bryce Denton singled with one out and moved to third on another base hit from Jose Martinez. With runners on the corners, an Ivey pitch got by catcher Michael Papierski and allowed the runner to score. The play was ruled a passed ball so the run was unearned. After that run scored, Ivey retired the final eight hitters he faced to close out the victory and pick up his second save of the season.
Arauz paced all hitters with three hits, including his league-leading sixth triple. Sierra went 2-4 with a triple of his own and a pair of runs batted in. The team finished with eighth hits.
Solomon worked 5.0 innings to pick up the win. He allowed one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Ivey dealt 4.0 innings and surrendered just the unearned run on three hits while striking out four.
The River Bandits (26-21) and Chiefs (24-21) will continue their showdown on Saturday evening with a doubleheader beginning at 5:35 p.m. The River Bandits will have RHP Yohan Ramirez (3-3, 3.41) on the mound for the opener and RHP Cristian Javier (2-1, 2.18) throwing in the nightcap. The Chiefs counter with RHP Paul Balestrieri (1-2, 4.76) in game one and a pitcher to be announced in the second game.
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.