Peoria, IL– The Peoria Chiefs came from behind to tie the game twice but eventually fell 8-5 in 11 innings to the Quad Cities River Bandits on Saturday, in front of a season-high attendance of 8,370. The loss drops the Chiefs to 3-7 in the second half and 36-42 on the season with three games remaining on the current home stand.
The River Bandits started the scoring in the second against Chiefs starter Dewin Perez. With one out Trent Woodward singled and Bobby Boyd and Jamie Ritchie each walked to load the bases. A two-out double by Alex Bregman plated Woodward and Boyd for the 2-0 lead.
The Chiefs evened the score in the bottom of the second against Quad Cities starter Christian Powell. With one out, Adam Ehrlich and Kenny Peoples-Walls each singled and Jhohan Acevedo walked to load the bases. Ehrlich and Peoples-Walls scored on a double by Darren Seferina to tie the game at 2-2.
Quad Cities regained the lead in the top of the third. Ramon Laureano doubled and back-to-back walks by Kristian Trompiz and Woodward loaded the bases. Laureano and Trompiz scored on a double by Boyd and Woodward scored on a sacrifice fly by Ritchie against new Chiefs hurler Cody Schumacher to make it 5-2 River Bandits.
The Chiefs pulled to within one with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Andrew Sohn led off and was hit by a pitch, and Oscar Mercado singled to put runners at first and second. Both men scored on a double by Nick Thompson to make it 5-4.
Peoria tied the game in the bottom of the eighth against River Bandits pitcher Jorge Perez. With one out Acevedo was hit by a pitch and went to second when Seferina reached on a River Bandits error. Acevedo scored on a double by Sohn to tie the game, but Seferina was held at third with one out. With the infield in, Mercado lined out to shortstop and Seferina was doubled off third to end the threat.
Quad Cities retook the lead in the 11th against Chiefs righty Robby Rowland. Bregman walked and went to third on a single by Nick Tanielu. Both men scored when Laureano hit a home run to left to make it 8-5.
Perez made his first Chiefs start since May 14 at Cedar Rapids and went 2 1/3 innings and allowing five runs on six hits and five walks, striking out one. Schumacher pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out five. Nick Lomascolo pitched two shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing two hits and one walk. Rowland (2-3) pitched three innings for the Chiefs and took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits and one walk, striking out four.
Notes: Peoples-Walls notched two singles to record his first multi-hit game since August 20, 2014 for State College against Auburn…Seferina recorded three hits in a game for the 12th time this season to give him 24 multi-hit game of the season, good for most among Chiefs hitters…Seferina also drove in two runs for his sixth multi-RBI contest of the season…Thompson’s two RBI gave him a team-leading nine multi-RBI games this season…Mercado stole a base in the third inning to give him a team-high 28 for the season, good for second in the Midwest League…Peoria is now 3-4 in extra inning games this season and 7-7 in games decided by the final at-bat…Schumacher has now gone 5 1/3 innings without a run allowed over his last two outings, giving up only three hits and two walks while striking out nine during that span …The Chiefs will finish the series with game two of the home stand against Quad Cities Sunday at 2:00 p.m….Sunday will be Irish Night at Dozer Park with a post-game performance by the Clonmel Marching Band…The first 1,000 fans will receive a Darren Seferina player poster courtesy of the Peoria Journal Star…Fans will have the chance to play catch on the field before the game and Chiefs players will participate in a pregame autograph session on the field… It is also a PNC Kids Eat Free Sunday, all kids 12 and under will get a free hot dog, chips, and a drink with a $5 admission…The pitching matchup pits Peoria RH Luis Perdomo (3-6, 2.55) against Quad Cities RH Brandon McNitt (1-2, 4.72)…The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 1:45 p.m., on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android…The broadcast is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network in the MiLB Inside the Park and Tune-In Radio Apps.
