The Vandals and the River Bandits traversed the sopping grounds Moline High School's sophomore diamond Wednesday.
Scott Ellefritz and the Bandits held off a late-inning rally from the Vandals coached by sub-captain Josh Paul who filled in for Kiel Engstrom. The Bandits took home a 12-10 victory.
Making it out of the batter's box without taking a tumble was difficult enough, let alone beating out infield hits. Soaked from Tuesday's rains, the skinned infield slowed down even the fastest Veto Leaguers.
Newcomers Scott Higdon and Brad Ryan each proved their worthiness as high picks in the next draft. For the Vandals, Higdon made a multitude of plays at first look easy and turned the second double play of the season unassisted.
Ryan gave the Bandits their big boost smacking a three-run homer to left in the second inning as Ellefritz's squad took a 7-1 lead.
Bobby Carter and Jeff Kilgard each left for work, bringing the game back down to seven on eight which allowed each team to pitch to itself. Matt Veto dished a meatball to Carlson in the sixth right where he likes it--all the way inside that it nearly hits him. The three-run bomb led to a five-run fifth. The Vandals took a brief 10-9 lead with four more in the seventh, but the Bandits responded with four of their own in the bottom of the inning. They never looked back.
The game highlight had to be the reappearance of VLB die hard, Jeff Kilgard. Leaving early for work, Kilgard returned in full Papa John's attire and a Papa John's light on his car. Kilgard singled to right and bounced to first wearing his Papa John's hat with pride.
"I hope my boss was serious when he said I could come back (to the game)," Kilgard said.
Ryan led the Bandits' offense with 5 hits, 2 runs and three RBI. Polton added 4 hits, a double, triple, and 3 RBI in the win. Josh Francque and Carlson combined for 8 hits, 4 runs and 4 RBI for the Vandals.
With three more fans in attendance it brings the VLB season total to 12 and a dog.
Scott Ellefritz and the Bandits held off a late-inning rally from the Vandals coached by sub-captain Josh Paul who filled in for Kiel Engstrom. The Bandits took home a 12-10 victory.
Making it out of the batter's box without taking a tumble was difficult enough, let alone beating out infield hits. Soaked from Tuesday's rains, the skinned infield slowed down even the fastest Veto Leaguers.
Newcomers Scott Higdon and Brad Ryan each proved their worthiness as high picks in the next draft. For the Vandals, Higdon made a multitude of plays at first look easy and turned the second double play of the season unassisted.
Ryan gave the Bandits their big boost smacking a three-run homer to left in the second inning as Ellefritz's squad took a 7-1 lead.
Bobby Carter and Jeff Kilgard each left for work, bringing the game back down to seven on eight which allowed each team to pitch to itself. Matt Veto dished a meatball to Carlson in the sixth right where he likes it--all the way inside that it nearly hits him. The three-run bomb led to a five-run fifth. The Vandals took a brief 10-9 lead with four more in the seventh, but the Bandits responded with four of their own in the bottom of the inning. They never looked back.
The game highlight had to be the reappearance of VLB die hard, Jeff Kilgard. Leaving early for work, Kilgard returned in full Papa John's attire and a Papa John's light on his car. Kilgard singled to right and bounced to first wearing his Papa John's hat with pride.
"I hope my boss was serious when he said I could come back (to the game)," Kilgard said.
Ryan led the Bandits' offense with 5 hits, 2 runs and three RBI. Polton added 4 hits, a double, triple, and 3 RBI in the win. Josh Francque and Carlson combined for 8 hits, 4 runs and 4 RBI for the Vandals.
With three more fans in attendance it brings the VLB season total to 12 and a dog.
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