Perseverance paid off Friday for three Quad-Cities River Bandits.

Dave Carpenter and Jon Edwards shook off some recent struggles and starting pitcher Hector Cardenas battled through rough opening innings to lead Quad-Cities to a 4-1 win over Burlington.

The River Bandits treated a crowd of 7,538, the largest since Modern Woodmen Park was renovated in 2004, to a crisply played game that did more than secure a series split against the Bees.

"This was a game we can build on, something that can help from a confidence standpoint," Carpenter said. "It's just what we all needed."

Carpenter worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his fifth save, Edwards drove home the game-deciding runs with a fifth-inning double and Cardenas earned his team-leading sixth win while combining with Joel Pichardo and Carpenter on a five-hit victory.

"There were a lot of good things that happened out there," Quad-Cities manager Steve Dillard said.

For example:

--n Frederick Parejo chased down a leadoff flyout by Marc Maddox that allowed Carpenter to earn his first save since June 12 with a perfect ninth inning.

-- Edwards ignored going 2-for-18 in his most recent at-bats before drilling his game-deciding double.

-- Cardenas led a walk-free outing by Q-C pitchers.

"When I couldn't get my fastball over in the first couple of innings, the defense made some great plays. That's what it takes - a team," Cardenas said. "The good plays they made behind me made all the difference."

Nobody appreciates that more than Edwards, who has scuffled through a .203 start to the season.

"It's been a struggle all year, and I feel like I'm doing everything I can to get out of it," Edwards said. "Right now, I'm starting to feel confident again and I'm putting some good swings on the ball. You have to keep battling."

Carpenter had a bullpen view of that before taking the mound to finish it off.

"It was a good, crisp game. Guys were putting good swings on the ball, the defense did its job," he said. "We ran through a tough stretch as a team, but I feel like we're starting to get it done."

QUAD-CITIES 4, BURLINGTON 1

THE DIFFERENCE: Jon Edwards drove a two-run double to center with one out in the bottom of the fifth to move Quad-Cities ahead for good, erasing the 1-0 edge Burlington opened on a two-out single by Juan Rivera in the second inning.

FULL HOUSE: Friday's game was played in front of a standing-room only crowd of 7,538, the largest since the Davenport stadium was renovated in 2004. The previous high of 7,056 was set last month on Thrivent Financial Night.

QUOTEBOOK: "It felt good to come out and play well in front of a big crowd like this at home. A couple of times when we've had nice crowds, we were out of it by the third inning and didn't give them much to cheer about." - Quad-Cities manager Steve Dillard

SOUNDS OF SILENCE: Hector Cardenas, Joel Pichardo and Dave Carpenter held the Bees hitless over the final five innings and were helped by a pair of double plays. Quad-Cities pitchers faced the minimum in each of the final seven innings.

CLOCK WATCHING: It took

1 hour, 58 minutes for the River Bandits to finish off the Bees on Friday, the quickest nine-inning game of the season by 5 minutes.

SWING BASEBALL: Among the team's seven hits, Charlie Cutler and Matt Carpenter led Quad-Cities with two hits apiece. Cutler is batting .361, while Carpenter is 5-for-8 in his two games with the River Bandits.

NEXT: Quad-Cities at Cedar Rapids, today, 5 p.m.