Sky Carp Walk-Off Bandits in Extras

Beloit, Wisconsin – The Quad Cities River Bandits (45-44, 15-11) out-hit the opposition 10-4 and did not trail until the final swing of their Thursday night matchup with the Beloit Sky Carp (44-48, 17-10), but fell 3-2 in 10 innings at ABC Supply Stadium.

River Bandits’ right-hander Blake Wolters and Sky Carp left-hander Nate Payne matched each other frame for frame, with the pair both completing 5.0-inning starts and allowing just one run.

Quad Cities recorded hits in every inning Payne was on the mound and eventually broke through in the fourth courtesy of Chris Brito, who, for the second-straight game, launched a go-ahead home run to put the River Bandits ahead 1-0.

Wolters worked around just two walks through his first four innings and picked up his High-A season-best-matching seventh strikeout to begin the fifth inning, but surrendered his first hit and his first run on one swing one batter later, as Jacob Jenkins-Cowart’s solo shot tied the game 1-1.

Both bullpens had taken over by the sixth inning, with Aiden Jimenez (2.0 IP, 2 SO) and Kamden Edge (2.0 IP, 5 SO) scattering a pair of hits combining for seven strikeouts to keep the game tied in relief for Quad Cities.

Edge allowed a Jesus Hernandez single and hit both Carter Johnson and Wilfredo Lara to load the bases with two outs in the ninth, but struck out Jenkins-Cowart on a 3-2 pitch to force the game to extra innings.

Brito came through for Quad Cities again in the tenth, poking a lead-off single through the right side of the infield against Juan Reynoso. The first baseman’s knock plated the placed runner, Blake Mitchell, and put the River Bandits back in front 2-1.

Yimi Presinal took over for Edge in the bottom of the tenth and retired Wilson Weber on a sacrifice-bunt for the first out of the inning, but with the game-tying run at third, Beloit struck for the long ball again, as Cody Schrier hit the game-winning two-run homer over the right field fence.

Reynoso (4-3) earned the win for the Sky Carp, allowing just the tenth inning’s unearned placed runner to score over 2.0 frames of relief, while Presinal (2-2) was charged with the loss and his fourth blown save for Quad Cities.

With the loss—the River Bandits’ second in the first three games against Beloit this week—Quad Cities remains in second place in the Midwest League West second-half standings, but fall to one-and-a-half games behind the Sky Carp for the top spot.

The River Bandits return to ABC Supply Stadium for game four of the six-game set tomorrow and send David Shields (8-4, 3.86) to the mound opposite Beloit’s Aiden May (3-2, 3.88). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.