Neuweiler’s Career Night Lifts Bandits to Third-Straight Win

Davenport, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits claimed their third win in-a-row on Thursday, holding on for a 4-3 win over the Peoria Chiefs behind a career-best 7.0-inning start from Charlie Neuweiler at Modern Woodmen Park.

Both starting pitchers gave up one run and worked into the seventh inning in game three of the six-game set, but it was Peoria right-hander Dionys Rodriguez who allowed a tally first, with the Bandits scoring in the opening frame on an RBI single from Morgan McCullough.

After the opening salvo, neither club would score until the sixth inning, as Neuweiler never faced more than one over the minimum and got some help from his defense, including outfield assists from Burle Dixon and Parker Bates who threw-out would-be game-tying runners at the plate and at third base respectively.

Neuweiler’s lone mistake came in the top of the sixth off the bat of Osvaldo Tovalin, who lifted a solo homer to right-center to tie the game 1-1, but the Quad Cities starter came back out for the seventh, and completed a career-high and Bandits’ season-high 7.0 innings by stranding a leadoff double with three consecutive groundouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, the River Bandits quickly retook the lead against newly entered Chris Roycroft, who didn’t record an out after loading the bases and allowing a go-ahead RBI single to Peyton Wilson.

The next two batters each plated runs as well and gave Quad Cities a 4-1 lead on RBI outs made by Diego Hernandez and Kale Emshoff who plated runs on a force out and groundout respectively.

With Neuweiler now out of the game, Peoria got a run against Harrison Beethe on a Tovalin single in the eighth, but the right-hander stranded the game-tying runs in scoring position, before Christian Cosby picked up his first save of the season, allowing a run on Thomas Francisco’s sacrifice fly, but getting Mac Chamber to flyout to end the game in the ninth.

Neuweiler (5-5) capped-off a career night with four strikeouts and his fifth win of the season, while Roycroft (0-1) took the loss after failing to record an out and allowing three runs, one earned, in his affiliated ball debut.

The Bandits will look to win their fifth series of the season on Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park, as William Fleming (0-0, 0.00) makes his Bandits and Royals’ organization debut against Peoria’s Logan Gragg (4-4, 3.92). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.