Bandits Hit Three Homers, Fall to Kernels in Slugfest

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Despite outhitting the Cedar Rapids Kernels by five, the Quad Cities River Bandits dropped their third game of the week by a final score of 8-7 at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Entering the contest having not allowed a run in his last 10 innings, Anthony Veneziano gave the Bandits two scoreless innings to begin the night before his offense put up the first tally of the top of the third on a Tucker Bradley bunt attempt that popped over the Kernels’ starter, Aaron Rozek, and allowed Rubendy Jaquez to score from third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Veneziano got charged with an unearned run as Aaron Sabato reached on an error by Nick Loftin and then with two outs, scored on an RBI single by Alex Isola to tie the game at 1-1.

After Quad Cities failed to convert on Will Hancock’s leadoff single in the top of the fifth, Chris Widger turned to his bullpen and brought in Anderson Paulino for his River Bandits’ debut in the bottom half. The righty needed just three pitches to record the first two outs of the frame, but after allowing a Gabriel Maciel single and an Edouard Julien four-pitch walk, the Kernels struck for another unearned run as Michel Helman reached on Loftin’s second error of the game and Maciel scored.

The next batter, Sabato, gave his team a 4-1 lead with an RBI single to right.

Quad Cities, however, also came to life against the bullpen as Carlos Suniaga entered for Cedar Rapids to begin the top of the sixth. Loftin started the frame with a walk and then got to third on Eric Cole’s double, and after a mound visit, Logan Porter stepped to the plate and tied the game at 4-4 with his 13th home run of the season which opened the four-bagger floodgates.

Alex Isola didn’t let the game remain tied for long and clubbed a solo jack off of Paulino to start the bottom of the sixth, but in the seventh, the River Bandits got a leadoff homer of their own as Maikel Garcia retied it at 5-5 with his second homer of the season.

Four batters later, and as the first man to face Tyler Palm, Cole picked up his second hit of the game with a go-ahead RBI single to plate Nathan Eaton, making the score 6-5, Bandits.

Paulino struck out Maciel to start the bottom of the inning, but then walked Julien again before hitting Helman with a pitch to put the go-ahead run on base. The righty then struck out Sabato and then gave way to Will Klein who surrendered the lead and a three-run bomb to the first man he faced, Yunior Severino.

Now trailing 8-6, the Bandits got their second leadoff homer of the game and their third in as many innings as Jake Means cranked a solo shot down the left field line to bring the visitors to within one, but after Palm stranded another Hancock single, Melvi Acosta picked up his eighth save of the season by getting Cole on a comebacker to end the game.

Having pitched 1.1 innings including a scoreless ninth, Palm (2-4) earned the win for Cedar Rapids, as Rozek didn’t factor in despite giving up just one run in five innings. Paulino (0-1) took the loss for Quad Cities by allowing six runs, three earned, over 2.2 innings of relief. Veneziano didn’t allow an earned run for the 14th consecutive inning and punched out five in his team-leading 21st start.

The River Bandits will look to avoid their second series loss of the season tomorrow as game one starter, A.J. Block (3-5, 4.27) will face Tyler Watson (3-9, 4.02) in a 2:05 p.m. CDT matinee at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.