Bandits power by Wisconsin 13-2
Tyler White smashed two home runs and Chase McDonald and Brian Holberton each added another as the River Bandits pounded the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 13-2 Sunday at Modern Woodmen Park.
Quad Cities hit four home runs in a game for the first time since July 12, 2012 at Lansing and for the first time at home since August 31, 2011 against Clinton.
With Quad Cities up 7-2, White led off the seventh with a home run onto the left field berm. Holberton followed with a double before Wisconsin reliever Harvey Martin got Thomas Lindauer and Jake Rodriguez to pop out and line out to short, respectively. However, Martin then yielded an RBI double to James Ramsay, who drove in two runs with a walk in a 3-for-5 day, to make it 9-2. Chan-Jong Moon walked and then Brett Phillips singled to left to plate Ramsay, making the score 10-2. Quad Cities batted around in the inning, scoring three runs on four hits while leaving the bases loaded.
As he did in the seventh, White led off the eighth with his second home run of the game. Again a Wisconsin reliever, this time Rodolfo Fernandez, got the next two batters before giving up a single to Rodriguez, a walk to Ramsey and a two-run double to Moon to make the score 13-2.
The River Bandits got the scoring going on McDonald's three-run shot way out to left-center in the first. The first baseman would finish 2-for-3 with two walks, one of six Bandits to accumulate multiple hits in the outing. All nine starters in the Quad Cities lineup reached base at least once.
Holberton's leadoff shot out to right in the third made the score 6-0 River Bandits. Holberton was one of three Bandits with three hits along with Ramsay and Rodriguez. Ramsay scored four runs in the game, becoming the first Quad Cities player to do so since Carlos Correa accomplished the feat on April 21, 2012.
Armed with a 6-0 lead, Michael Feliz (3-1) continued to rip through the Wisconsin lineup. The right-hander went five innings, only allowing two unearned runs on six hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four. Jandel Gustave worked the final four scoreless frames for Quad Cities to earn his first save of the season, scattering four hits with a walk and three punchouts.
Clint Terry (0-1) took the loss for Wisconsin, surrendering six runs on six hits with four walks and no strikeouts in just two innings. Wisconsin snapped their four-game winning streak to go to 36-33 and Quad Cities finished the first half of the season above .500 at 35-34.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits are home at 7 p.m. Thursday for Modern Woodmen Night and Pack the Truck Night benefiting the River Bend Food Bank. To order any of the River Bandits 2014 ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having just been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership recently made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, to be followed by two new rides - one called a "Drop and Twist" and the other called "Space Camp" - an expanded 300-foot long zip line, and many other new games and attractions. In 2013, the team unveiled a new 220-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. Last season, the team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.