(TIMBER RATTLERS) GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers gave Bishop Letson plenty of support on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field. The Rattlers scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and Letson – after a slight hiccup in the second inning – took care of the West Michigan Whitecaps with nine strikeouts over five innings to propel the Rattlers to a 6-1 victory.
The Timber Rattlers (10-15) jumped to the early lead with four runs in the first inning. Eduardo Garcia knocked in the first run with a single. Later in the first, Juan Baez had the bases loaded and singled to right to drive in two runs. Baez also drew a wild throw on an attempt to get him at first base and this allowed a third run to score on the play for a 4-0 lead.
West Michigan (16-9) put a two-out threat together in the second inning against Letson, who had retired the first five batters he faced in the game with relative ease. Then, Whitecaps had back-to-back scratch singles and a walk on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Letson ended the rally with a strikeout, his fifth of the game.
Letson needed 34 pitches to get through the second. He only needed 32 pitches over his final three frames. Max Clark singled to start the top of the third. Then, Letson retired the final nine batters he faced. He struck out Clark on a 3-2 pitch for his ninth K of the game to set a new single-game high as a professional. Letson walked one and allowed three hit in the game
Jadher Areinamo added to the Wisconsin lead in the bottom of the fifth with a lead-off homer, his third home run of the season. Areinamo had two hits on Friday night for his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
Aaron Rund, the first Wisconsin reliever, picked up where Letson ended by retired all six batters he faced.
Blake Burke provided one more power surge for the Rattlers with a long home run to center to start the Wisconsin seventh. The homer was also his third of the season.
The Whitecaps got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning against Dikember Sanchez, who gave up a single, a wild pitch, and a walk to put runners on the corners with one out. Seth Stephenson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Sanchez got a strikeout, Wisconsin’s twelfth of the game, to get out of the eighth with no more damage. He would get one more strikeout as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win for the Rattlers.
In his last two starts, Letson has pitched 10-1/3 scoreless innings, allowed six hits, walked one, and struck out thirteen while earning the win in both starts. In his previous start, Letson earned the win at Cedar Rapids in a 1-0 decision.
Game five of the series is Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Tyson Hardin (2-0, 0.96) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Joe Miller (1-0, 2.18) is scheduled to start for the Whitecaps. Game time is 1:10pm.
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