Fireworks Fly as Quincy Earns First Franchise Win
QUINCY, IL — The Quincy Doggy Paddlers collected their first win of the season Friday night, defeating the Alton River Dragons 10–7 in front of a supportive home crowd. The offense got going early, and despite a mid-game rally from Alton, Quincy held firm and sealed the victory with strong pitching down the stretch.
Freshman Patrick Wojada got the start on the mound for Quincy, while Alton sent out junior Collin Johnson.
Wojada made quick work of the top of the first, inducing a fly out and a pair of ground outs to send Quincy to the plate. Right fielder Jimmy Koza led off with a base hit and a steal, then Quincy native Brady Kindhart delivered an RBI double to get the Dogs on the board. Matthew Thompson followed with a single to move Kindhart to third, and center fielder Krew Bond hit a sacrifice fly to bring him in, making it 2–0.
Wojada continued his strong start in the second, allowing only one hit. In the bottom half, designated hitter Harry Oden led off with a single, followed by hits from Skyler Graham and Koza to load the bases. Wandel Campana knocked a two-run single to right to score two, then stole a base to put more pressure on Alton. Johnson balked, scoring Koza and giving Quincy a 5–0 lead.
But Alton answered right back. The River Dragons piled up five hits in the third to score five runs and tie the game at 5–5.
Quincy responded quickly. A series of walks loaded the bases, and Graham grounded out to bring home Bond. After another walk to Koza, Alton brought in reliever Rhett Dysholm, but he issued a walk to Campana to score Christopher Suchoski. Quincy was back on top 7–5.
Wojada settled in with a quick fourth inning—strikeout, ground out, fly out—and Quincy added another run. Bond was hit by a pitch and stole second before Suchoski brought him in with an RBI single to make it 8–5.
Wojada kept rolling in the fifth, working around a single with help from a double play. In the bottom half, Graham led off with a single, Koza doubled, and a wild pitch allowed Graham to score. Kindhart followed with a sac fly to bring home Koza, extending the lead to 10–5.
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth. Quincy turned to Ethan Rose from the bullpen in the seventh. He allowed only a hit-by-pitch and held Alton scoreless. Koza got on again with a hit-by-pitch in the bottom half, but Quincy couldn’t add insurance.
The River Dragons threatened in the eighth. A hit-by-pitch and single sparked a two-out rally, and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position. Jayden Patel knocked a two-RBI single through the left side to make it 10–7. After a walk, Rose exited, and Quincy called on lefty Noah Wilder to close things out.
The Paddlers went down quietly in the eighth and looked to Wilder to seal the ninth.
Wilder got two quick outs on a grounder and fly out. A pair of singles gave the River Dragons hope, but the crowd stayed loud, chanting “Let’s go Doggys!” Wilder induced a groundout to end it and give Quincy its first win of the season—fittingly punctuated by a fireworks show that will follow every Friday night home game.
From the Dugout
We’re happy with it. Again, we scored in the first two innings, which we were happy with. We scored in every inning but the last three. So I was happy with the guys, and tonight’s a bounce back after a game yesterday—that’s for sure.
— Field Manager Brad Gyorkos
We needed to get one, right? 0–3 is no fun, especially the way we were losing. So it’s nice to get one. I thought our guys competed really well and stuck with it when we got punched in the face a little bit. So yeah, it was nice—especially for the road stretch coming up.
— Gyorkos on the importance of a home win
Really happy with it. The five-spot—they hit the ball really well and we can be okay with that. We didn’t walk anybody. But that two-spot right after that—it’s a really tough spot for our guys.
— Gyorkos on his team’s resilience
Yeah, so I was happy with him getting after the fifth spot in the third. It was nice he settled in and could give us six. I mean, really proud of him.
— Gyorkos on starter Patrick Wojada
(Says jokingly) It’s about time. No, I’m happy again. He’s a really good player for us and he’s probably gonna play every single day—and that’s why we brought him back. Because that’s exactly what he should do. Hopefully he has a good day tomorrow.
— Gyorkos on Koza’s 3-for-3 performance
Playing on the road is tough, but it’s just another game. So we gotta go and play every night. This is the first, but we gotta go and play tomorrow.
— RF Jimmy Koza
River Dragons Stat Line
R: 7 | H: 12 | E: 0
P Collin Johnson (L, 0–1): 2.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (19.64 ERA)
RF Kyle Campbell: 2–4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI
C Matt Carano: 2–4, 1 R
Doggy Paddlers Stat Line
R: 10 | H: 11 | E: 0
P Patrick Wojada (W, 1–0): 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
P Noah Wilder (SV, 1): 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K
RF Jimmy Koza: 3–3, 3 R, 1 BB
