(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) BELOIT, WI – Wilfredo Lara brought the Beloit Sky Carp all the way back on Sunday afternoon at ABC Supply Stadium against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Beloit trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but a three-run rally in the eighth and Lara’s two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled the Sky Carp to a 5-4 win over Wisconsin.
Tayden Hall broke the scoreless deadlock with a two-out, solo home run to right in the top of the sixth inning. Hall fell behind 0-2 in the count against starting pitcher Brandon White. Hall cracked a long home run to right after working the count full to give the Rattlers (52-66 overall, 18-36 second half) the lead.
Wisconsin added to their lead in the top of the seventh inning. Josh Adamczewski hit a two-out, two-run double for a 3-0 lead. Luis Peña followed with an RBI single for the 4-0 advantage.
Beloit (60-59, 30-23) was held scoreless through the first seven innings. Travis Smith, Stiven Cruz, and Anthony Flores worked the first six innings. Flores worked two perfect innings with help from an unusual 1-2-3 putout against Aiva Arquette in the sixth. Arquette hit a grounder back to the mound. Flores swiped at the ball behind his back and knocked the ball back to catcher Blayberg Diaz at the plate. Diaz fired to Hall at first in plenty of time for the out.
Yerlin Rodriguez entered in the seventh inning and gave up a lead-off single before getting the next three hitters.
In the bottom of the eighth, Rodriguez walked Lara to start the inning. Cam Cannarella followed with a single. Ian Lewis fouled off three two-strike pitches, worked the count full, and doubled to left-center on the ninth pitch of the at bat to drive in two runs.
Aaron Rund replaced Rodriguez and got the first out on a grounder. Then, Brandon Compton cut the Wisconsin lead to one run with a double to right. Rund struck out the next two batters to send the game to the ninth.
There was one out in the bottom of the ninth when Rund hit Echedry Vargas to bring Lara to the plate.
Lara was down in the count 1-2 when he hit a popup to foul territory near the warning track by the first base stands. The ball landed out of the reach of Hall and Lara got a second life. The next two pitches missed to run the count full. Lara hit the payoff pitch to left and the ball carried to the Wisconsin bullpen for a walkoff home run.
The Sky Carp needed the win to stay tied with the South Bend Cubs in the second half West Division playoff race. South Bend had won earlier in the day against Cedar Rapids. Beloit and the Cubs are both 30-23 in the second half with twelve games remaining in the regular season. Beloit holds the tie-breaker on South Bend.
The Rattlers have fallen to a season-low fourteen games under .500 after their sixth walkoff loss of the season.
Wisconsin returns to action when they return to Neuroscience Group Field on Tuesday night with a game against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Manuel Rodriguez (2-4, 2.97) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Game time is 6:40pm.
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