Burlington pitching dominates Bandits

BURLINGTON, Iowa - Burlington's Victor Alcantara held Quad Cities hitless through the first five innings, setting the tone for a dominant pitching performance that helped the Bees beat the River Bandits 6-3 at Community Field.

Alcantara's no-hit bid ended on a Tanner Mathis single with one on and nobody out in the sixth. With Burlington ahead 5-0, the right-hander walked Austin Elkins to load the bases. Alcantara got James Ramsay to strike out before walking Chan-Jong Moon as the River Bandits finally got on the scoreboard. The next batter, Brett Phillips, lined a two-run single to right to get Quad Cities within 5-3. With runners on the corners and one out, Burlington brought in right-hander Ben Carlson, who got Jon Kemmer to loft a flyball to left field. Burlington outfielder Mike Fish made the catch, and then unleashed a rocket to nab Moon, who had tried to tag up from third, at home to retire the side.

Quad Cities would not have a baserunner for the rest of the night. Burlington pitchers retired the last 10 Bandits to come to the plate.

Alcantara (3-3) ended up working 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on two hits with six strikeouts and four walks for the win.

The Bees were able to break a scoreless tie in the third. Quad Cities starter Jandel Gustave retired the first two men of the inning before yielding a double to Kody Eaves. Chad Hinshaw singled to left to bring in Eaves for the game's first run. Hinshaw then advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single for Fish to make it 2-0.

Gustave struck out Eaves to lead off the fifth, but then plunked Hinshaw with a fastball to put a man on first. After fanning Fish, Gustave's 3-2 pitch to Eric Aguilera was smoked over the wall in left-center for a two-run home run and Burlington doubled their lead to 4-0. The Bees would score another run on an RBI double later in the inning by Angel Rosa, who went 4-for-4 with two stolen bases. Burlington would steal six bases against the River Bandits throughout the game, a season high against Quad Cities.

After being named the River Bandits Pitcher of the Month for May, Gustave (5-3) struggled in his first June outing, yielding five runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts in five frames. Patrick Christensen threw a season-high three innings out of the bullpen, allowing a run on four hits. He punched out three and walked two.

Brian Loconsole worked a perfect eighth and ninth with three punchouts for his first save of the season as Burlington hopped above .500 to 29-28. The River Bandits fell for the second consecutive game. Their record now stands at 30-28.

The two teams will resume their series tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. Michael Feliz (1-1, 3.52 ERA) will start against Burlington's Harrison Cooney (4-3, 2.05).

UP NEXT: The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park at 6 p.m. Saturday with a Craig Biggio Bobblehead Giveaway presented by Prairie Farms and FOX18 for the first 1,500 fans. Tickets are available at riverbandits.com. To order any of the ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having just been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 110 feet over the playing field, is opening in May, along with a carousel, a new ride called a "Drop and Twist," an expanded 300-foot long zip line, and many other new games and attractions. In 2013, the team unveiled a new 220-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. The team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, just saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.