DAVENPORT, Iowa (Interstat) — Asbel Gonzalez singled to open the bottom of the first, Zion Rose walked, and the Quad Cities River Bandits turned that early traffic into the only offense they needed Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in a 4-0 victory over the Dayton Dragons in Game 1 of their Midwest League (A) playoff series at Modern Woodmen Park. The game lasted 2 hours, 36 minutes and drew 2,037 fans. Quad Cities leads the series 1-0. Dayton, the visiting team, was shut out despite collecting six hits. Quad Cities finished with five hits and scored twice in the first before adding single runs in the third and fourth.

The River Bandits broke through in the first when Blake Mitchell reached on a fielder’s choice and an error by Dayton second baseman Johnny Ascanio allowed Gonzalez to score. Ramon Ramirez followed with a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Rose for a 2-0 lead. Quad Cities added another run in the third when Nolan Sailors dropped a sacrifice bunt that scored Derlin Figueroa. The final run came in the fourth when Mitchell doubled to right field, scoring Gonzalez. Dayton never advanced a runner past third base after the third inning and left chances unfinished in the fifth and eighth.

Tanner Jones was the top star for Quad Cities, starting and working 4 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits, no earned runs and struck out three. Jordan Woods earned the win in relief, improving to 5-2, pitching three innings of four-hit, scoreless baseball with four strikeouts. Kamden Edge recorded one out, and L.P. Langevin finished with a hitless inning and three strikeouts. Quad Cities pitchers combined for 15 strikes, 62 balls and 15 balls in play, while Dayton pitchers combined for 27 strikes, 54 balls and 27 balls in play.

Dayton’s pitchers kept the game within reach for a while. JeanPierre Ortiz took the loss, falling to 4-3, after allowing one earned run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Brady Afthim gave up two earned runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Edgar Colon was sharp in relief, throwing three hitless, scoreless innings with four strikeouts. David Lorduy added 1 2/3 hitless innings with three strikeouts. But Dayton’s offense could not solve Quad Cities pitching. Ty Doucette went 2-for-4 and was the only Dragons batter with multiple hits. Ryan McCrystal singled and stole a base. Johnny Ascanio and Kien Vu also drew walks, but Dayton grounded into a double play in the eighth and struck out three times in the ninth.

Dayton had its best chance in the fifth. Johnny Ascanio walked, Kyle Henley singled and Kien Vu walked to load the bases with two outs, but Justin Lebron popped out to second base. In the eighth, Ty Doucette doubled and John Michael Faile singled to put runners at the corners. Ryan McCrystal walked to load the bases, but Johnny Ascanio grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Dragons also left a runner at third in the third after Damian Ruiz walked and advanced on a groundout. Quad Cities had a bases-loaded opportunity in the second, but Blake Mitchell struck out swinging to end the threat.

Blake Mitchell drove in Quad Cities’ final run and finished 1-for-5 with one RBI. Asbel Gonzalez singled and walked three times, scoring twice. Zion Rose walked and scored. Ramon Ramirez added a sacrifice fly, and Nolan Sailors drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt. Derlin Figueroa singled and scored. Quad Cities improved to 73-56. Dayton fell to 68-64. The series continues Tuesday at Dayton.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Quad Cities 7, Dayton 5, and its ELO system had given Quad Cities a 59.2 percent probability to win. Quad Cities instead won by four runs and kept Dayton scoreless.