BANDITS PUT ON A SHOW IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD
In front of 6,822 excited fans and under the lights of the first live television broadcast of the season, Tommy Pham clubbed two home runs and the River Bandits exploded for a six-run third inning on their way to an 8-5 victory over the Peoria Chiefs.
Quad Cities (31-29) packed the park with the largest crowd to watch a baseball game in Davenport since the stadium underwent a thorough renovation following the 2003 season. Peoria (28-36) found themselves with a lead early before Brian Broderick came out of the bullpen to punch-out a career high eight, as the Chiefs' four-game winning streak came to a screeching halt.
The River Bandits busted onto the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second. After Chiefs' starter Chris Siegfried struck out the first two batters of the inning, Pham swung at a 1-0 pitch and swatted a solo homer to the opposite field in right-center, giving Quad Cities a 1-0 edge.
In the top of the third, however, the Chiefs rattled off three consecutive two-out hits to battle back. Marquez Smith capped the rally with a two-run blast to left, putting Peoria out in front by a 3-1 score.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the River Bandits exploded for a six-run bottom of the third. The first six men that came to the plate all scored runs, starting with back-to-back walks drawn by Luis De La Cruz and Mike Folli. After Nick Peoples singled to load the bases, all three runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Pete Kozma followed with a two-run single to left, Charlie Kingrey added an RBI-double that reached the base of the wall in center, and Matt Arburr capped the rally with a mammoth two-run homer to left that sailed out of Modern Woodmen Park to give Quad Cities a commanding 7-3 lead.
The score was 7-5 when Pham belted his second bomb of the night to lead off the sixth inning. The 20-year-old from Las Vegas took an 0-1 pitch and clubbed it to straightaway center field, banging the ball off the batter's eye to push the score to 8-5.
Meanwhile, piggyback starter Brian Broderick came out of the bullpen to shut down the Chiefs over the final four innings. The Arizona native registered a career-high eight strikeouts over four scoreless frames, limiting Peoria to just three hits and earning his third save of the year.
Matt Spade (1-2) earned his first win of the season with a scoreless inning of relief. The southpaw entered in the top of the third with men at the corners, nobody out, and three runs already in, but fanned the first two batters he faced before getting an inning-ending lineout to strand both inherited runners.
Siegfried (1-5) suffered the loss for Peoria, getting roughed up for six runs on four hits over two-plus innings of work.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits are back in Davenport for a seven-game homestand against Peoria and Beloit that stretches into the All-Star break. That means Hall of Famer and Peoria Chiefs' manager Ryne Sandberg is back at Modern Woodmen Park for a doubleheader on Wacky WINS-day, which will feature a stadium-wide game of Baseball Bingo and free Kenny Chesney tickets! A Thirst-day Thursday presented by the Quad Cities CW and Rock 104.9's Dave & Darren rounds out the series before the River Bandits welcome in the Beloit Snappers for a three-game set that starts with Elvis Night on a Fireworks Friday. The River Bandits will celebrate Flag Day with a flag giveaway on a Rockin' Saturday presented by Coors Light and WQAD Newschannel 8, featuring live post-game music by The Dani Lynn Howe Band. The homestand concludes on the final day of the first half with a U.S. Bank Family Sunday on Father's Day, including a baseball giveaway courtesy of HNI Corporation and Fox 18 as well as a Father's Day game of catch on the field brought to you by Spike TV. Bandit Wear featuring the new team name and logo is currently available by visiting the Modern Woodmen Park team store, and season ticket packages, mini-packages, and the popular You-Pick-10 Plan are on sale at the park or by calling (563) 3-BANDITS!