Bandits Outlast Beloit 7-4 for Independence Day Win

In a game that took nearly four hours to complete, the Quad Cities River Bandits outlasted the Beloit Snappers for a 7-4 win in front of 5,003 fans on Independence Day at Modern Woodmen Park. The Bandits earned their fifth straight victory and moved into first place in the Western Division second half standings.
The fourth and fifth innings were full of twists and turns as the teams combined to put up 10 runs in those frames. Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Quad Cities broke through with some help from a Beloit error. Ross Adolph led off the inning with a hit by pitch and Oscar Campos joined him on base with a single. After Cesar Salazar struck out, Alex McKenna hit a bouncer to second baseman Joseph Pena. Pena was prepared to start an inning-ending double play by tagging Campos, but the ball popped free on the tag and everyone was safe to load the bases. Jonathan Lacroix yanked a double down the first base line that deflected off of Nick Ward's glove and scored all three baserunners to put the Bandits in front 3-1. Ramiro Rodriguez added an RBI single to make it 4-1.
Beloit (2-11, 29-52) bounced right back to even the score in the top of the fifth. Reliever Jonathan Bermudez took over for the River Bandits and retired the first two batters he faced. Logan Farrar hooked a double into the right field corner to extend the frame and Anthony Churlin did the same by working a walk. A double off the wall in left from Cobie Vance scored one run and a wild pitch allowed another to score, closing the gap to 4-3. The Snappers pulled even when Santis Sanchez lined a base hit into center field to plate Vance.

The River Bandits (10-3, 53-26) didn't waste much time in retaking the lead. In the bottom of the same frame, the first three hitters to step to the plate reached base, loading the bases for McKenna. The designated hitter chopped a groundball to third that was gloved by Vance, but the throw home was low and bounced away from catcher Skyler Weber, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Lacroix was hit by a pitch to force in another run and then Rodriguez lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to push the margin to 7-4.
Bermudez picked up the win by tossing 3.2 innings out of the bullpen with five strikeouts. The save belonged to Riley Cabral who worked the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit. Starting pitcher Cody Deason surrendered one run on one hit in 4.0 innings of work. He walked five and recorded four strikeouts.
Lacroix paced the Bandits offensively with four runs batted in. Rodriguez added a pair of RBI and both Adolph and Campos finished with two hits. Beloit's Cobie Vance finished 2-4 with two doubled and two RBI.
The Bandits and Snappers conclude their brief two-game series on Friday night with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Modern Woodmen Park. The River Bandits will throw RHP R.J. Freure (4-3, 3.71) in a match-up against Beloit RHP Rafael Kelly (1-1, 1.80). Smart Toyota will present post-game fireworks for the second straight night.     
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.