(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth for the second night in a row against the Beloit Sky Carp at Neuroscience Group Field. And for the second night in a row, the Sky Carp held on to defeat the Rattlers. Saturday’s final score was 9-7 as the Sky Carp and Rattlers are tied for the second half West Division playoff spot.
Beloit (40-44 overall, 13-6 second half) struck in the first inning for the second straight game. Dillon Head doubled to right on the first pitch of the game. A wild pitch by Rattlers starting pitcher Josh Knoth moved him to third with one out. Jesus Hernandez knocked in Head with a sacrifice fly.
Wisconsin (47-34, 13-6) matched that run almost exactly the same way. Daniel Dickinson doubled, took third on a wild pitch by Sky Carp starter Liomar Martinez, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Eric Bitonti.
The Sky Carp took the lead again in the fourth after the Rattlers thought the inning was over. Colby Shade appeared to hit into an inning-ending double play. Knoth was in the dugout when the call was overturned after a conversation between the umpiring crew. Wisconsin returned to the field. Shade stole second, took third on a single, and scored on a wild pitch by Knoth for a 2-1 lead.
The Rattlers responded again to tie the score but could not take the lead after an unfortunate break. A dropped fly ball in left allowed Tayden Hall to reach second to start the inning. Tyler Rodriguez singled with one out to knock in Hall from third. Luiyin Alastre stepped in with two outs and Rodriguez still at first. Alastre hit a deep fly to the gap in right-center that would have scored Rodriguez. However, the ball bounced on the warning track and over the wall for an automatic double. Rodriguez had to retreat to third base. Martinez got the final out of the inning on a strikeout.
Head, who was 3-for-4 in the game, put the Sky Carp back into the lead in the top of the fifth. Knoth gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters of the inning. Then, Head hit a 3-2 pitch for a three-run home run for a 5-2 lead.
Dickinson drew a lead-off walk to start the Wisconsin fifth. Bitonti followed with a titanic home run over the wall in center, his fifteenth homer of the season, to cut the deficit to a run and send Garcia to the showers.
Beloit padded their advantage in the seventh inning. Reliever Quinton Low walked the first two batters. Starlyn Caba tripled both runners home. Hernandez cleared the wall in left moments later for a two-run home run and a 9-4 lead.
Dickinson started another rally for Wisconsin with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the seventh off Michael Perez. Bitonti walked and Marco Dinges single to put runners on the corners. Tayden Hall got Bitonti home with an RBI grounder, and the Rattlers were within three runs. Perez stranded Dinges as he retired the next two batters.
Perez managed to work his way through the eighth inning despite walking two batters. He struck out Bitonti on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning with the Wisconsin slugger representing the tying run.
Juan Reynoso was called on to pitch the bottom of the ninth for the Sky Carp. He retired the first two batters. Luis Castillo kept the game alive with a two-out, solo homer, his tenth home run of the season. Reynoso walked Rodriguez to bring the tying run to the plate for Wisconsin but picked up his eighth save of the season when he got Daniel Guilarte to pop out to right.
Wisconsin had three home runs on Saturday night to run their season total to 110 in just 81 games. This season’s squad are tied with the 2022 Rattlers for the second-most homers in a season in team history. The franchise record was set by the 2021 Rattlers. That team hit 117 homers in 119 games.
Dickinson stayed hot for the Rattlers as he was 3-for-3 with two walks, three stolen bases, and three runs scored. He is 22-for-52 (.423) with five homers, three doubles, and fourteen RBI in seventeen games during the second half. Dickinson has raised his season average from .200 to .249 during the second half.
Beloit accomplished three things with their win on Saturday. They have taken a 3-2 series lead over the Rattlers for the week, taken a 4-3 lead in the season series from the Rattlers, and have tied the Timber Rattlers at the top of the West Division standings with one game left before the four-day All-Star Break that starts on Monday.
The Rattlers and Sky Carp wrap up the series on Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field with the winning team heading into the break in first place by a game. Ethan Dorchies (3-6, 5.35) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Brayan Mendoza (3-2, 5.29) is the scheduled starter for the Sky Carp. Game time is 1:10pm.
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