Ninth Inning Rally Leads to Tenth Inning Win

The Quad Cities River Bandits had been shut out for 8.2 innings and were down to their final strike twice in the ninth inning on Thursday night in Appleton. However, they used three consecutive singles in the ninth to tie the game and an RBI single from Chandler Taylor in the tenth to beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-1 in the series finale.
The Timber Rattlers took the initial lead for the third straight game in the bottom of the second inning. With two outs in the frame, Zach Clark hit his eighth home run of the season to put Wisconsin ahead 1-0. The towering fly ball to the opposite field bounced off the top of the wall just out of the reach of outfielder Scott Schreiber.
The Bandits went 0-9 with runners in scoring position through the first eight innings and entered the ninth still trailing 1-0. Reliever Robbie Hitt retired the first two batters in the frame, but Alfredo Angarita extended the game with a single to left. Miguelangel Sierra lined a two-strike single into shallow right to put runners on the corners. Also down to his final strike, Cesar Salazar lined a game-tying single into center to even the score.

In the top of the tenth, Michael Papierski moved Trey Dawson to third base with a bouncer to the right side. Dawson scored on Taylor's base hit over a drawn in infield to put the Bandits in front 2-1.
In the bottom half, Brent Diaz could not advance Clark to third base with a bunt that went right back to the mound. Humberto Castellanos retired the next two hitters to strand the tying run on third and give the Bandits the victory.
The Bandits outhit Wisconsin 11-6. Seven of the nine players in the lineup mustered at least one hit. Taylor, Angarita, Sierra and Salazar each had two.
River Bandits starting pitcher Leovanny Rodriguez went 6.1 innings and allowed just one run on four hits. He struck out six Timber Rattlers. JP France worked 2.2 scoreless innings out of the pen to grab the win. Castellanos retired all three hitters in the ninth to earn the save.
The River Bandits (34-26, 74-56) continue their road trip by heading to Community Field to battle the Burlington Bees (18-37, 48-76) on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The River Bandits have RHP Edgardo Sandoval (4-6, 4.08) on the mound in a meeting with Burlington RHP Jose Soriano (0-6, 5.06).
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.