River Bandits Punch Ticket To 2026 Midwest League Playoffs

Peoria, Illinois – For the second time in three seasons, the Quad Cities River Bandits (69-56, 39-23) secured a trip to the Midwest League Playoffs, and with a 6-4 win over the Peoria Chiefs (62-67, 30-33), clinched the 2026 West Division Second Half Title at Dozer Park.

The River Bandits will host the first half champion South Bend Cubs for Game 1 of the Midwest League West Division Championship Series Tuesday, September 8 at Modern Woodmen Park.

Friday’s victory came in comeback fashion, as Quad Cities fell behind 1-0 three pitches into the bottom of the first when Andrew Williamson launched a solo home run off River Bandits’ starter and Royals’ top prospect Kendry Chourio.

Quad Cities’ bats aided the starter in the next half-inning, tying the game 1-1 in the top of the second via Erick Torres’s RBI-single. Jose Cerice scored the game-tying run after reaching base via hit-by-pitch for the minor league-leading 29th time.

After allowing the game’s first run, Chourio retired nine of the final 11 Chiefs’ hitters he faced to close out a 3.0-inning start, which featured three strikeouts. Including his time with Single-A Columbia, the right-hander owns 91 on the season, the most for any minor league pitcher aged 18 or younger in 2026.

Left-hander Rob Hensey was first out of the River Bandits’ bullpen and allowed a leadoff single Caden Ferraro in the bottom of the fourth. Hensey retired the next three Peoria hitters to close out the inning, but not before a wild pitch allowed Ferrero to score and pushed the Chiefs ahead 2-1.

Following Torres’s second-inning knock, the River Bandits totaled just two hits during the remainder of Brian Holiday’s career-long 7.0-inning outing. Both hits came against the Chiefs’ starter in the sixth, with the first off the bat of Royals’ 2026 first-round pick Zion Rose, who reached on an infield single.

After Rose was picked off just one pitch prior, Blake Mitchell walloped the Bandits’ second hit of the inning—a game-tying solo shot for his 23rd home run of the season. While his single-season total ties for fourth best in the league this year, the catcher’s River Bandits total of 25 ties Sam Ashford, Joseph Henderson and his teammate Trevor Werner for the ninth on Quad Cities’ all-time home run list.

Dash Albus, the Bandits’ reigning Pitcher of the Month, preserved the tie in the sixth and through two-thirds of the seventh before fellow right-hander Kamden Edge recorded the inning’s final out.

Quad Cities jumped out to its first lead of the night in the eighth against Chiefs’ reliever Zeke Woods, taking advantage of a pair of Peoria errors on Rose’s second hit of the game, a go-ahead RBI-single. During the outfielder’s now 12-game on-base streak, Rose is batting .302 with eight runs batted in and a .431 on-base percentage.

Edge returned for the bottom of the eighth and opened the frame by getting Jose Suarez to pop out, but Peoria followed with back-to-back solo homers. Williamson clubbed his second of the game before Yairo Padilla’s solo blast gave the Chiefs a 4-3 lead.

For the second time in the series, Peoria sent Nate Dohm to the mound with a one-run Chiefs lead in the top of the ninth. After beaning Cerice to begin the frame, Austin Charles fouled off a pair of two-strike offerings before singling to right. Tyriq Kemp executed the River Bandits’ High-A-leading 51st sacrifice bunt and pushed both runners into scoring position.

Erick Torres looked to have delivered his second RBI-hit of the game, but lined out to second baseman Brayden Smith to bring Quad Cities up against its final out.

After Ben North drew a full-count to load the bases, Nolan Sailors came through with Quad Cities’ biggest hit of the season, driving in Cerice and Charles with the go-ahead two-run single. Sailors’ flare to left snapped a 0-for-8 start to the series which included seven strikeouts.

The River Bandits added an insurance run during the next at-bat and went up 6-4 when Dohm uncorked a wild pitch to Rose that allowed North to score from third before the inning ended.

After warming up for parts of the previous three half-innings, Quad Cities’ right-hander LP Langevin entered the game to pitch the bottom of the ninth and secured his club’s win and his third save of the season. The right-hander worked a perfect frame and punched out Tristan Bissetta for his 106th strikeout. The total leads all full-time minor league relievers and is tied for eighth among all Midwest League pitchers this season, even with the right-hander working exclusively out of the bullpen.

Despite allowing two home runs, Edge (7-1) earned the win for Quad Cities, while Dohm (2-7) was tagged with the loss and his second blown save of the series after surrendering three runs in the ninth.

The victory marked Quad Cities' league-leading 22nd since August 1 and the River Bandits' 13th when taking the lead during their final half-inning at the plate.

The River Bandits return to Dozer Park for the penultimate game of the 2026 regular season Saturday and send Tanner Jones (5-6, 4.58) to the mound opposite Peoria’s Jack Martinez (1-3, 5.46). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Tickets are for Game 1 of the Midwest League West Division Championship Series are on sale now at riverbandits.com or at the Modern Woodmen Park box office.