Bandits complete franchise's best first half
Quad Cities River Bandits right-handers Akeem Bostick and Brandon McNitt combined to allow four hits and one walk, while All-Star catcher Jacob Nottingham had three hits as the designated hitter in a 3-1 series rubber match and first-half finale win over the Burlington Bees in front of 4,135 at Modern Woodmen Park Sunday afternoon.
Finishing the first half at 45-23, the River Bandits had the best record in the Midwest League. Quad Cities had the league's best record in a half for the first time since the second half of the 1992 season. The team had the league's best first-half record for the first time in at least 28 years, and its 45 wins were the most for the first half in franchise history, which goes back to its first Midwest League season in 1960.
Bostick faced two batters over the minimum in the first four innings Sunday. In the fifth inning, Bees first baseman Sam Koenig led off by grounding a double down the third-base line. Left fielder Trevor Gretzky lined a single to right field to put runners at first and third bases with no outs. Catcher Brandon Gildea then grounded to shortstop Kristian Trompiz, who began a double play as Koenig scored the game's first run. Bostick was charged with one earned run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.
Burlington All-Star right-hander Jeremy Rhoades worked around three hits in the first two innings, before right-hander Justin Anderson (4-5) began the third inning. Anderson pitched scoreless third and fourth innings, getting help from center fielder Michael Hermosillo throwing out Nottingham at home plate as he tried to score on a two-out single by All-Star third baseman Nick Tanielu in the third inning.
With a lead for the first time in the fifth inning, Anderson walked center fielder Bobby Boyd with one out. Second baseman Luis Reynoso singled to left-center field, allowing Boyd to reach third base. All-Star catcher Jamie Ritchie drew his league-leading 59th base on balls to load the bases for Nottingham, who grounded to second base to score Boyd for a 1-1 tie.
River Bandits left fielder Jason Martin broke the tie by hitting Anderson's first pitch of the sixth inning to the Miller Lite Party Deck in right field for his third home run. In the seventh inning, Nottingham hit a leadoff single to center field, stole his first base of the season to reach second base and went to third base on a passed ball by Gildea. When first baseman Ryan Bottger struck out on a pitch in the dirt, Gildea dropped the ball on his tag attempt, and when he threw to first base, Nottingham beat the throw back to home plate for a 3-1 lead. Anderson was charged with all three earned runs on six hits and five walks with six strikeouts in five relief innings.
McNitt (1-2) began the sixth inning in a 1-1 tie and retired the first 10 batters he faced. Hermosillo broke the streak with a one-out single in the ninth inning, but McNitt got a flyout and strikeout to complete four shutout innings - his first scoreless outing as a River Bandit.
The entire Midwest League has a three-day All-Star break Monday through Wednesday. Three River Bandits will represent the club at Tuesday's All-Star Game at Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill. Nottingham will participate in the pregame home run derby and join Tanielu in the starting lineup for the Western Division. Ritchie is a reserve for the Western Division.
Quad Cities opens the second half Thursday, visiting its first-round playoff opponent, Cedar Rapids, which went 41-29 in the first half to finish in second place. River Bandits right-hander Justin Ferrell (1-0) is scheduled to make his first start in the opener of a four-game series.
UP NEXT: Voting ends at 10 p.m. Monday for the "Best of the Ballparks" Class-A final at BallparkDigest.com. If Modern Woodmen Park wins the contest, the River Bandits will offer free tickets at the ballpark box office on Wednesday, June 24, for the 7 p.m. home game Monday, June 29. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: With the installation of the Ferris Wheel, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931, and this year the club is matching that effort by opening three new areas. A two-tiered special group deck immediately behind and overlooking the corn field opens next week. A new 11,000-square-foot concourse expansion down the third-base line will open in July. Finally, the club is expanding the children's play area by an additional 5,500 square feet down the right-field line. New rides will be announced upon completion of these new areas.