Davenport, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits (37-40, 7-7) closed out the first half of a two-week homestand with their fourth consecutive win Sunday, defeating the Cedar Rapids Kernels (33-45, 2-12) 8-4 at Modern Woodmen Park.
The Kernels struck first against Quad Cities’ starter Emmanuel Reyes, as Enrique Jimenez blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall to give Cedar Rapids a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Kernels nearly extended the advantage later in the frame, but were denied by Luke Pelzer who made a leaping grab at the wall to deny Danny De Andrade an RBI-hit.
River Bandits’ catcher Ramon Ramirez had a big first inning, which started by bringing Quad Cities within one on his RBI-double, which plated Nolan Sailors from third. Later, Ramirez stole third and proceeded to the plate after a Jimenez throwing error helped tied the game 2-2.
Quad Cities jumped in front in the third inning thanks to a balk call on Kernels’ starter Michael Ross, which allowed Angel Acosta to score from third base. Shortly after, Luke Pelzer smacked an RBI-double into right field to score Sailors for a 4-2 River Bandits’ lead.
Cedar Rapids drew one back in the fourth against Reyes with Dameury Pena dropping an RBI-single into shallow center field to cut Quad Cities’ lead to 4-3.
Trevor Werner slammed his way into River Bandits’ history in the fourth inning, as his two-run shot put Quad Cities up 6-3 and marked his 24th home run with the team, good for joint-tenth in club history dating back to 1960.
Reyes’ outing came to an end after 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while tallying one strikeout. Mason Miller entered in relief.
The Kernels loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Asbel Gonzalez’s leaping play in center secured the final out of the frame, stranded the bases loaded, and maintained the Bandits’ three-run lead.
Cedar Rapids eventually cut Quad Cities’ advantage to 6-4 against Miller in the sixth thanks to an RBI-single from Caden Kendle.
Miller’s 1.1-inning performance ended with two outs in the sixth after allowing three hits and one earned run with one strikeout. Nick Conte relieved Miller.
Conte’s hitless appearance lasted 1.1 innings as well, with the right-hander recording one strikeout along the way before being relieved by Max Martin to begin the eighth inning. Martin’s lone inning also saw no hits and one strikeout.
Ramon Ramirez upped his team-leading RBI total to 56 with a two-RBI double in the eighth off Kernels’ reliever Mitch Mueller. With Acosta and Sailors reaching home on the knock, the River Bandits’ lead was extended 8-4 entering the ninth inning.
Quad Cities’ right-hander Yimi Presinal closed out the win for Quad Cities, pitching a perfect top of the ninth which included one strikeout and the score cemented, 8-4.
Mason Miller (1-1) earned the win for the River Bandits, while Ross (5-4) took the loss for the Kernels giving up five hits and three earned runs over 4.0 innings.
After entering the day without a hit in his previous 13 at-bats, Sailors set the tone atop the Bandits’ lineup with a team-leading three hits. Ramon Ramirez struck for a pair of doubles and paced Quad Cities in run production with three RBI. Luke Pelzer elevated his High-A leading batting average to .351, totaling two hits and an RBI of his own.
The River Bandits begin the back half of their two-week homestand Tuesday, July 7 and welcome in the Peoria Chiefs for a fresh six-game set at Modern Woodmen Park. First pitch for the series-opener is set for 6:30 p.m.