Four-Homer Night Sets Bandits' Single-Season Record

Davenport, Iowa – Behind a record-setting four longballs, the Quad Cities River Bandits cruised to their fourth-straight win on Wednesday and topped the South Bend Cubs 12-4 at Modern Woodmen Park.

Quad Cities scored in all but one inning of the game and had their first two runs handed to them when Miguel Pabon made a bases loaded error that quickly put the Bandits up 2-0 in the first, before Nick Loftin’s second hit in as many innings, a two-run double, made it 4-0 against Cubs’ starter Max Bain in the second.

In the leadoff spot for the first time this season, Tyler Tolbert added a trio of tallies with a three-run blast in the third, his first High-A home run, that chased Bain from his start and made it 7-0.

Despite the Cubs getting five runners on against Charlie Neuweiler in the first three innings, the Bandits’ righty didn’t allow a run until the top of the fourth, when South Bend got a pair of unearned runs on a Tolbert throwing error.

However, the Q.C. offense immediately got one back in the bottom half on a solo shot by John Rave for his 14th of the season and an 8-2 Bandits’ lead.

Emilio Marquez took over on the hill for Quad Cities in the top of the eighth, after Neuweiler went four innings and allowed no earned runs, and gave up a two-out solo home run to Jake Slaughter, his second in as many nights. But once again, Quad Cities responded in the bottom half with an RBI double off the bat of Tolbert for his fourth RBI.

After Marquez pitched the game’s first one-two-three inning in the top of the sixth, Quad Cities scored in six consecutive frames and did it in historic style, as Loftin’s two-run dinger gave his team 140 on the season, surpassing the previous single-season record 139 set in 2017.

Despite them loading the bases with one out in the seventh, newly entered Zach Leigh finally held the River Bandits off the board in the seventh.

A sac-fly by Miguel Pabon and a solo homer from Eric Cole got each team another run in the eighth, but Will Klein shut the door with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the ninth to secure the 12-4 win.

Marquez (1-0) earned his first River Bandits’ win with three frames of one-run relief, while Bain (5-9), who coughed up seven runs—five earned—in 2.2 innings got the loss for the Cubs.

Quad Cities will look to secure at least a split of their final regular season series of the year tomorrow and will work behind Anthony Veneziano (6-4, 3.66). D.J. Herz (1-0, 3.27) is probable to get the start for South Bend. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Modern Woodmen Park.