On the night Paul Hoilman set the franchise record for longest hit streak in team history at 22, the Peoria Chiefs were unable to take advantage of another quality start from Kyler Burke as they fell 2-1 to the Beloit Snappers Wednesday night at Peoria Chiefs Stadium before 2,370 fans. The Snappers jumped out to a lead in the top of the third. Rory Rhodes singled and advanced to second on a balk by Burke. A groundout moved Rhodes to third before Adam Pettersen joined him on the base paths with a one-out walk. Leadoff hitter Wang Wei-Lin brought home Rhodes slapping a ground ball past the diving Wes Darvill at third to open the scoring at 1-0. After setting franchise record for longest hitting streak in his first at bat, Paul Hoilman was at it again in the fourth. The first baseman tripled with one out off Steven Gruver (2-3) and trotted home with a sac fly from Taylor Davis knotting the score at 1-1. Beloit got their lead back in the seventh. After hitting the leadoff hitter Jonathan Goncalves, Burke allowed a bloop single to Rhodes, Kyle Knudson followed with a sac bunt while reaching on a fielders’ choice to load the bases for Adam Pettersen. Pettersen gave Beloit the lead with a sac fly down the right field line that allowed Goncalves to tag and score giving Beloit a 2-1 lead. Click here for the complete game stats.
-Bob
The Quad Cities River Bandits scored three first-inning runs but were held scoreless the rest of the way as the Peoria Chiefs, aided by a go-ahead, three-run home run from first baseman Ryan Cuneo, came from behind for a 5-3 Wednesday night victory to avoid being swept at home in the opening series of the Rivertown Showdown before 1,161 fans. The Chiefs were shut out for two innings by River Bandits left-hander Dail Villanueva (0-1), but they loaded the bases in the third inning with a walk, a double by Paul Hoilman and a hit batter. An error by David Medina and a groundout by catcher Taylor Davis then brought in the Chiefs’ first two runs. Michael Jensen retired 17 of the final 19 batters he faced to finish with five strikeouts in six innings pitched, and right-hander Yao-Lin Wang pitched two perfect innings following Jensen. Click Here for Game Stats.
-Bob
The Peoria Chiefs opened there 30th consecutive baseball campaign against the Quad City River Bandits before 3,273 fans at O’Brien Field. Quad Cities scored five runs in the top of the ninth as the Chiefs gave away the home opener 8-3. The loss spoiled two excellent outings by starter Benjamin Wells and reliever Kyler Burke. The Chiefs left 10 runners on base and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Click here for the Box Score.
-Bob
It was Hockey night at O’Brien Field with HOF’er Denis Savard and Chicago Blackhawks national anthem singer Jim Cornelison. Savard retired in 1997, after his second stint in Chicago following stops in Montreal and Tampa Bay, with 1,338 points, which is 28th on the all-time NHL scoring list. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. It was also Bradley University’s Presidents Night Out at the ballpark with Joanne Glasser throwing out a ceremonial pre-game first pitch followed by an outstanding rendition of the National Anthem.
-Bob
The Peoria Chiefs left 10 runners on base, and couldn’t complete a four-game sweep as they fell 3-1 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels Tuesday evening at O’Brien Field. Peoria still finished the homestand 6-2 and they are off to a 7-2 start in August with a 51-63 overall record. Peoria starter Brett Wallach worked five strong innings giving up only 3 hits while striking out 5, but was on the losing end while Cedar Rapids starter Seth Fowler picked up his first win of the season, Daniel Tillman shut the door on the Chiefs for his 10th save of the year.
-Bob
