Whalen Knocks in Career-High Six, Chiefs Fall Sunday

Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs fell to the Quad Cities River Bandits 11-9 in a back-and-forth series finale Sunday afternoon at Dozer Park. The loss drops the Chiefs to 18-23 on the season as they hit the road for nine games in eight days.

The River Bandits got on the board early against Chiefs starter Cole Aker. They scored one run in the top of the first and one in the top of the third for a 2-0 lead.
     The Chiefs cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth against River Bandits starter Matt Ruppenthal. With one out, Leandro Cedeno doubled and scored on a double by Brady Whalen to cut the lead to 2-1.
     The River Bandits extended their lead in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second, Cesar Salazar singled to score two runs for the 4-1 lead.
     Peoria fought back and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Alexis Wilson hit his first Chiefs homerun to cut the deficit to 4-2. Delvin Perez tripled and scored on Nolan Gorman's two-out double to cut the lead to 4-3. Leandro Cedeno walked and Brady Whalen doubled to score Gorman and Cedeno to give the Chiefs the 5-4 lead.
     Quad Cities tied the game at five in the sixth against Evan Sisk. They regained the lead off Fabian Blanco in the seventh when Trey Dawson hit a three-run homerun for the 8-5 lead.
     The Chiefs got back to within a run in the bottom of the seventh. Perez led off with a walk and advanced to third on Gorman's single, with Gorman advancing to second on the throw to third. Whalen knocked in his fourth and fifth RBI of the game when Perez and Gorman scored on his single to bring the score to 8-7.
     The River Bandits added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Michael Wielansky singled with the bases loaded to score two and Jeremy Pena singled to increase the lead to 11-7.
    The Chiefs rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Brandon Riley singled and Gorman walked to put runners on first and second. Cedeno doubled and scored Riley to cut into the lead at 11-8. Whalen knocked in his career-high sixth RBI on a sac fly to score Gorman to make the score 11-9, but Brendan Donovan struck out to end the game.
     Aker pitched 4 2/3 innings while allowing four runs, three earned, on two hits with eight walks and four strikeouts. Evan Sisk (1-2) took the loss, pitching two innings allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Blanco pitched two innings, allowing five runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Thomas St. Clair pitched 1/3 of an inning allowing two hits.
     The Chiefs start an eight day road trip Monday at 6:35 p.m. against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Peoria will start LH Diego Cordero (2-2, 1.66) against Wisconsin RH Logan Gillespie (0-0, 2.96). The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:20 p.m. on the Peoria Chiefs Tune-In Page, which is free and also has a free app for smartphones and tablets.