CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Playoff baseball has officially begun for the River Bandits, and the intensity did not disappoint in the best-of-five High-A Central Championship opener.
Quad Cities dropped Game 1 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels by a final score of 2-1 on Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
It was the first time the River Bandits were held to one run since August 18.
Quad Cities posted seven hits on the night, but untimely hard-hit balls at perfectly positioned Kernels defenders squandered limited scoring opportunities.
In his postgame press conference, River Bandits manager Chris Widger says it was just a 'typical Tuesday' for the team who finished a league-best 36 games above .500 in the regular season, but went just 9-9 on Tuesdays.
"I think we had seven or eight balls hit over 100 MPH that were outs and one that dropped in for a hit. It happens," Widger said. "We squared up some balls enough where, on any given night, maybe two or three of those drop in and it's a different outcome."
The difference in the one-run contest was an eighth-inning solo home run by Kernels designated hitter Jair Camargo off of River Bandits lefty Caden Monke.
The opposite field blast went off the glove of Quad Cities right fielder Tucker Bradley who lost his mitt over the fence in a leaping effort.
Homers are nothing knew to the Kernels, who finished the regular season with the second-most (161) in High-A Central.
Monke was one of three Quad Cities pitchers used in the game who combined for two earned runs allowed over eight innings of work.
Right-hander A.J. Block started for the River Bandits and allowed one earned run on five hits, while walking one and striking out three in five innings pitched.
The Quad Cities trio of Block, Monke, and righty Zach Haake stranded 10 Cedar Rapids base runners and limited the opposition to just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Offensively, the River Bandits faced a group just as tough on the mound.
Quad Cities hitters scored their lone run on seven hits while stranding six baserunners on the night.
Kernels starter Louie Varland carried his regular season dominance into his game-one outing. The righty surrendered one earned run on six hits while striking out four and walking one across seven quality innings.
"We hit him pretty hard today, we put some good barrels on him, (but) that's just the way baseball rolls," said River Bandits designated hitter Nick Lofton. "You've got to be lucky, and tonight we weren't. It's just the way it rolled today and we'll get back to it tomorrow."
The River Bandits scored their first run of the game in the second inning on a one-out RBI single by left fielder Eric Cole, driving third baseman Nathan Eaton who doubled in the previous at-bat.
Quad Cities followed that up with a walk and single to load the bases for their top of the order, but a fielder's choice and pop out would end the inning and a golden scoring opportunity.
It didn't take long for the Kernels to respond.
Cedar Rapids answered with back-to-back two-out doubles in the bottom of the second to tie the game 1-1.
Scoreless innings and stranded runners for both teams lasted through the eighth where Monk surrendered the go-ahead home run, giving the Kernels a 2-1 lead.
A one-out single in the top of the ninth by Quad Cities center fielder John Rave started a rally, but back-to-back strikeouts shut the door on a comeback.
Widger didn't call the Game 1 performance a lack of effort, but he would like to see the team tighten up mistakes after committing three fielding errors on the night.
"I'm not at all disappointed in our effort or our approach to the game," Widger said. "I'd like to see us clean it up defensively, but I thought we went out and played well."
The River Bandits will send Anthony Veneziano (6-4, 3.75 ERA) to the mound against Kernels starter Sean Mooney (0-1, 6.23 ERA) in Game 2 of the five-game series.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.