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Midwest: River Bandits get blown out

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Staff report | Saturday, May 3, 2008 12:19 AM CDT | () comments

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — After missing an early opportunity to score, West Michigan never gave the Quad-Cities River Bandits another chance Friday night.

The Whitecaps scored in six of the first seven innings, clubbed 15 hits and took advantage of four Quad-Cities errors to roll to a 16-3 Midwest League rout at Fifth Third Ballpark.

In losing for just the second time in nine games, the River Bandits surrendered a season-high 16 runs and watched West Michigan batters drive runs in from eight of the nine spots on the lineup card in the opening game of a three-game series.

The loss was the most lopsided for Quad-Cities since losing a 17-4 game to Beloit during the final days of the first half in 2007.

Jordan Newton led the Whitecaps with a four-hit game that included a pair of triples. Newton finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in a game that began with a wasted scoring threat by the River Bandits.

West Michigan starting pitcher Jon Kibler opened the game by walking the first three batters he faced. But after striking out Matt Arburr and Aaron Brown in succession, Whitecaps center fielder Kyle Peter made a running catch at the wall in left-center to deny Osvaldo Morales an extra-base opportunity and end the inning.

After doubling and scoring to give West Michigan a 1-0 lead after one inning, Peter made an over-the-shoulder basket catch with his back to the field on a Luis De La Cruz fly ball to deep center in the top of the second.

By then, Kibler was in the midst of retiring nine consecutive batters, and the Whitecaps were on their way to opening a lead that reached 8-0 after a four-run third inning.

The bases were loaded when Cory Middleton reached on an error by Domnit Bolivar at third. A run-scoring single by Audy Ciriaco followed and Peter then blew the game open with a two-run single.

Middleton later hit a three-run homer as the Whitecaps’ lead reached 16-1 after seven innings.

Pete Kozma, who extended his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single in the eighth, and Bolivar drove home River Bandits runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

Contact the sports desk at (563) 383-2285. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

REPORT

LumberKings pull away in 10th

GENEVA, Ill. — After a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run, Tim Smith and Mitch Moreland each homered in the 10th inning Friday to lift Clinton to a 6-2 Midwest League win at Kane County.

In the first head-to-head meeting of the season between the Western Division’s two frontrunners, the LumberKings used a sacrifice fly by Renny Osuna in the eighth inning to forge a 2-2 tie and send the game into extra innings.

Engel Beltre and Osuna reached on back-to-back one-out singles in the 10th, allowing Beltre to score on a wild pitch by Justin Friend. Smith followed with a two-run homer that was followed by a solo shot by Moreland. Reliever Ryan Turner set the Cougars down in order in the 10th.

— Staff report