By WJBC Staff
PEORIA – The Peoria Chiefs allowed three runs in the eighth inning and fell to the Quad Cities River Bandits 5-3 Wednesday night for their second loss in a row. The loss evens the Chiefs record at 3-3 as they head to Wisconsin to take on the TimberRattlers in a four-game series beginning at 6:35 p.m. Thursday.
Peoria got on the board in the first inning against Quad Cities starting pitcher Rogelio Armenteros. Magneuris Sierra legged out an infield single and advanced to second on a balk. RJ Dennard picked up his fifth RBI of the season when he extended his season hit streak to six games on a single to left, scoring Sierra.
Quad Cities tied the game in the top of the third with back-to-back singles by Aaron Mizell and Osvaldo Duarte. Chiefs starter Derian Gonzalez uncorked a wild pitch that ricocheted off the back stop and down the third base line scoring Mizell all the way from second base to tie the game at one apiece.
The combination of Sierra and Dennard struck again in the bottom of the sixth. Sierra swung at strike three in the dirt, catcher Anthony Hermelyn could not corral the errant pitch and Sierra beat the throw down to first. Serra stole second and Dennard delivered his second RBI hit of the night as the Chiefs took a 2-1 lead.
Reliever Chandler Hawkins hit Pat Porter to start the seventh inning and after two groundouts that moved Porter to third, he gave way to Tyler Bray. Bray’s wild pitch while facing Bobby Wernes, scored Porter to tie the game.
The Chiefs regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Ralph Garza. Jose Godoy led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. He went to third on a groundout and scored on a groundout to second by Craig Aikin for a 3-2 Chiefs lead.
Bray quickly got the first two outs in the eighth before Kyle Tucker singled to left and Hermelyn singled to right. Porter drove a deep fly ball off the wall in right and the cutoff throw by Eli Alvarez hit Hermelyn in the leg near the plate allowing all three runners to score for a 5-3 Bandits lead. The Chiefs final chance came in the bottom of the eighth but Tucker made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Dennard of extra bases to end the inning with Casey Turgeon on first base.
Gonzalez took a no-decision after allowing one run on two hits over five innings. He tied a career high with 10 strikeouts and walked one. Hawkins allowed one run on a hit batter and two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings. Bray (0-1) took the loss allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, a walk and a wild pitch in 1 1/3 innings while striking out one. Luke Harrison threw a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout.
