Miscues Cost Bandits Late in Loss to Kernels

Davenport, Iowa – Carson Roccaforte’s three-run blast gave the Quad Cities a one run lead in the eighth inning Wednesday, but the Cedar Rapids Kernels took advantage of three River Bandits ninth-inning errors and defeated Quad Cities 6-5 at Modern Woodmen Park.

A leadoff double by Kyle DeBarge produced an immediate threat in the top of the first. DeBarge would advance to third on a throwing error by catcher Canyon Brown, but was caught stealing home later in the inning to keep the game scoreless.

Starting pitchers Tanner Hall (Cedar Rapids) and Logan Martin (Quad Cities) dominated the game over the next few frames, striking out a combined five batters. Martin would be the first to blink, however, surrendering two runs in the fourth after walking two batters and throwing a wild pitch.

Right-hander Dennis Colleran replaced Martin in the fifth and completed his first scoreless inning at Modern Woodmen Park, but allowed a solo shot to Billy Amick in the sixth, extending the Cedar Rapids lead to 3-0. The homer marked Amick’s first High-A long ball.

Quad Cities responded in the bottom half of the frame on a two-out RBI-single from Daniel Vazquez, but the Kernels quickly avenged the run with a Caden Kendle RBI-triple in the seventh.

The River Bandits have been a relentless ballclub all season long, and Wednesday’s eighth inning showcased that. Diego Guzman led off the frame with a single, and the floodgates opened. Callan Moss scored Guzman with a two-out sacrifice fly, but that was only the beginning.

Bryan Gonzalez kept the inning alive with a single, and Roccaforte drilled the second pitch of his at-bat into the right-field party deck for a go-ahead three-run shot.

Tyler Davis was brought in for the save, but bad luck bit the Bandits in the ninth. Kyle Hess reached on a one-out single, while the next two Kernels batters reach on consecutive catcher interferences to load the bases.

Davis managed to secure the second out, and it appeared Quad Cities would escape after DeBarge chopped the first pitch of his at bat to second, but it wasn’t meant to be, as low throw by Diego Guzman got away from Callan Moss and allowed two Kernels to score and push Cedar Rapids ahead 6-5.

The Bandits went down one-two-three against Nick Trabacchi, who secured his first save of the season.

Davis (3-2) was charged with the loss for Quad Cities, while Paulshawn Pasqualotto (4-0), earned the victory for Cedar Rapids despite allowing all four of Quad Cities’ eighth-inning runs.

The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park for a game three rubber match as Felix Arronde (2-4, 2.99) gets the start for Quad Cities opposite Cedar Rapids’ Jose Olivares (3-2, 3.94). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.