(TIMBER RATTLERS) GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers earned their first win of the second half of the Midwest League season. They really earned it at Neuroscience Group Field on Tuesday night.. Wisconsin trailed the Quad Cities River Bandits 4-0 through 5-1/2 innings and had managed one hit before scoring three runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh. The Rattlers held on for a 7-6 win.
The River Bandits (41-29 overall, 2-2 second half) took the lead with two runs in the top of the third inning. Wisconsin starter Anthony Flores walked Sam Kulasingam on four pitches with one out. Callan Moss doubled a few pitches later to drive in Kulasingam. Carter Frederick added a run for Quad Cities with a two-out, RBI single to score Moss.
Quad Cities put runners on second and third with no outs against Flores in the top of the fifth on a walk and a double. Flores got the first out on a grounder to third with the runners holding their bases. The call was made to the Wisconsin bullpen after that out.
Yerlin Rodriguez entered the game and threw a wild pitch to allow a run to score. Derlin Figueroa followed that with an RBI double for a 4-0 lead.
Wisconsin’s offense had one hit and one walk against River Bandits starting pitcher Josh Hansell over five innings. Hansell struck out five and turned that lead over to his bullpen.
The Rattlers (35-34, 1-3) got on the board in the sixth against Juan Martinez. Tayden Hall singled to start the inning but was at second with two outs. Marco Dinges hit a slow chopper to third. Figueroa fired late and wild to first to allow Hall to score. Blake Burke followed that with a 113.9mph rocket off his bat to the Miller Lite Home Run Porch in right for a two-run homer to pull the Rattlers within a run.
Quad Cities had two base runners in the top of the seventh inning against reliever Tyler Woessner. However, both runners were caught trying to steal second base. Dinges made an incredible throw to just get Figueroa for the second out. Then, Jadher Areinamo made an even more incredible pick and tag combination on Bryan Gonzalez on a short-hop throw from Woessner on the mound after Gonzalez took off early from first base.
Yhoswar Garcia got Wisconsin going in the bottom of the seventh with a bunt single. Martinez got the first out on a grounder that moved Garcia to second with the tying run. Quad Cities went to the bullpen for Jacob Widener.
Widener walked Kay-Lan Nicasia and hit Hall to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Garcia to score the tying run. Juan Baz sent a grounder to short with the infield in, but Nicasia was able to score the go-ahead run when the ball got away from catcher Canyon Brown.
Areinamo extended the lead and his own hitting streak with an RBI single to plate Hall. Areinamo is now on a twelve-game hitting streak to tie Burke for the longest hitting streak by a Rattler this season.
Wisconsin scored their final run of the inning when Dinges beat out a potential inning-ending double play to allow Baez to cross the plate for a very important run to give the Rattlers a three-run advantage.
Woessner had two outs with none on in the eighth inning before issuing a walk and a single. The call went to the Wisconsin bullpen for Jesús Broca to face Moss.
Moss won the battle with a two-run single to right to cut Wisconsin’s lead to a single run. Carson Roccaforte made bid for a hit as the next batter, but Yhoswar Garcia made a sliding catch to end the inning.
Broca was all business in the ninth as he retired the Bandits in order, including a game-ending strikeout, for his second save of the season.
The Rattlers won despite being outhit by Quad Cities 14-7. The River Bandits stranded eleven runners in the game.
The series continues on Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Manuel Rodriguez (0-1, 1.80) is the announced starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities plans to send Mauricio Veliz (3-3, 4.99) to the mound. Game time is 12:10pm.
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