What a wild one last night! The River Bandits ended up losing in 15 innings in Kane County, but other than the final score it was a fantastic ballgame. Five QC pitchers combined to hold the Cougars to six hits – only three of which left the infield – and four relievers put together a stretch in which 26 men in a row were retired at one point. That’s one out shy of a perfect game!!!

Unfortunately, what should have been the 27th consecutive out was instead played into a two-out error, ultimately leading to the unearned run that ended the night. Kevin Thomas will try to pitch the Bandits to a split in tonight’s road trip finale at Elfstrom Stadium.

Then, it’s back to Davenport on Saturday. And what a homestand we’ve got planned! Remember, there are only 11 home games remaining this season. Hard to believe, but it’s true. Eight of them come up this week and there are some fantastic promotions in store, so now’s the time visit the ballpark. For a full list of promotions you can click here. For Ben Chiswick’s personal favorites, read on…

The fun starts on Saturday night with the Rascal bobblehead doll giveaway. It’s the final installment of the four-part series featuring Brett Wallace, Pete Kozma, Steve Dillard and Rascal emerging from the corn field. SWEET collector’s items. But after the game, the Rockin’ Saturday concert is the best one yet – Dueling Pianos! Personally, I love Dueling Pianos. Always a good time. Somebody please make sure they don’t try to avoid playing “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel.

Sunday, we’re hosting an Xbox Madden 2010 tournament just two days after the game’s release. Awesome. Tuesday is going to be Salute to the Mustache. Sure, mustache’s can be kind of creepy, but I’ve got a feeling this will be highly entertaining.

Later in the week and into next week, a couple of other exciting things to talk about. Those of you that listen to me on the radio have likely heard me talking about BirdZerk! In fact, he was in Kane County last night (although I noticed he was conspicuously absent as the game went into the 15th). He is one of these traveling entertainment acts and is HILARIOUS. If you’ve got kids it’s a can’t-miss show, and he’ll be at Modern Woodmen Park on Thursday.

After a Rascal wind-up doll giveaway on Friday, Saturday the 21st is going to be Jimmy Buffett Night. You gotta love the Parrot Heads. What a laid-back bunch of dudes. I wish I had a Hawaiian shirt, then maybe they would let me into the club. The River Bandits will be wearing sweet Jimmy Buffett-style jerseys that will be auctioned off in support of Genesis Health System charities – a great cause.

If I haven’t given you good enough reasons to visit Modern Woodmen Park this week, then you should really stop trying to steal Christmas every year. Nobody likes a downer.

Bandits are back on Saturday and charging hard for the playoffs. See you at the ballpark, and wish us luck tonight in Kane County!