(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) GRAND CHUTE, WI – Thursday’s game between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and South Bend Cubs at Neuroscience Group Field was tied 6-6 after six innings and heading for an exciting finish. The Cubs took all the drama out of the final act by scoring four runs in the seventh, nine runs in the eighth, and six runs in the ninth to defeat the Rattlers 25-6. Matt Halbach led the onslaught by the Cubs by going 5-for-5 with five runs and six RBI.
Wisconsin (20-14) scored three runs after there were two outs and none on in the bottom of the first. Josh Adamczewski started the rally with a triple. Eric Bitonti and Josiah Ragsdale extended the inning with walks on full counts. Daniel Dickinson ripped a double to right to drive home all three runners for the 3-0 lead.
South Bend (18-15) scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to tie the game. In the fourth, Kane Kepley singled, stole second, and went to third on a ground out. Cole Mathis drove in Kepley with a sacrifice fly.
Rattlers starting pitcher J.D. Thompson went back out for the fifth. He walked Halbach, the inning’s lead-off hitter, and was removed from the game as he reached his pitch limit.
Bryan Rivera took over and surrendered a double to Leonel Espinoza. Alex Madera drove in Halbach with a grounder. Espinoza scored the tying run from third by just beating a throw from Adamczewski on a sacrifice fly to foul territory by Justin Stransky.
Braylon Payne put the Rattlers back in front with a tape-measure home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth against Kenyi Perez. Payne’s seventh home run of the season gave Wisconsin a 4-3 lead. Perez would walk three batters after the homer by Payne, but Wisconsin did not cash in on the opportunity to extend their lead.
That lead would be short-lived. Kepley started the sixth inning with a walk and a steal of second against Rivera. There were two outs and Kepley was still at second when Rivera walked Kade Snell with a wild pitch on ball four allowing Kepley to take third base. Halbach tied the game with an RBI single. Espinoza put the Cubs in front with another RBI single. Halbach scored another run when he came home from third on an errant throw to second stolen base by Espinoza.
That 6-4 South Bend lead was erased on two-out rally by Wisconsin in the bottom of the sixth. Cubs reliever Kevin Valdez struck out the first two batters of the inning before walking David Garcia, giving up a single to Payne, and walking Andrew Fischer. Adamczewski reached on an infield single to get Garcia home with a throwing error on the play letting Payne score the tying run.
The Cubs kicked their offense into high gear in the top of the seventh against Jose Nova. Kepley, again, started the inning with a walk and a steal of second base. A walk and a single loaded the bases. Snell grounded into a force play at second to drive in Kepley for a 7-6 lead. Moments later Halbach hit a three-run home run for a 10-6 lead.
South Bend sent thirteen men to the plate in the eighth and scored nine runs on five hits and four walks against Quinton Low and Bjorn Johnson. Kepley had two RBI singles and two runs scored in the eighth. The other big blow in the inning was a two-run triple by Christian Olivo.
Infielder Luiyin Alastre was called on to pitch the top of the ninth inning for Wisconsin. He allowed six runs on eight hits with a walk as the Cubs had twelve batters trek to the plate. Stransky launched a grand slam in the inning for a 24-6 lead. Halbach, who was on base seven times with two walks and five hits, drove in the final run of the game with a single.
This was the second time this season the Rattlers have allowed more than twenty runs in a game. They had lost 24-7 to the Peoria Chiefs at home on April 16.
The Cubs put the lead-off batter on base from the third through the ninth. They scored at least one run in each of the final six innings.
Adamczewski’s three hits moved his batting average to .337 on the season. He has eleven multi-hit games this season. Payne’s three hits marked his ninth multi-hit game and first three-hit game of the season.
Neuroscience Field is going to the dogs in the good way! It is the first Bark in the Park Night presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The left field grass seating area will be set aside for our canine friends. Please make sure your pup’s vaccinations are current and enter through the left field gate. As an incentive, Tito’s Handmade Vodka will donate $5 per dog to Hope Highway Dog Rescue for every Bark in the Park Game this season – up to $2,500.
Make sure you are in the ballpark early for the Running of the Wiener Dogs, a race in the outfield that will determine the fastest dachshund in the area.
Everyone is sure to build up an appetite with all that activity, and we have hotdogs available for ten cents on Dime Dog Night. Children twelve and under may run the bases courtesy of Menasha Corporation after the game to burn off all those hotdogs.
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