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Rattlers beat Clinton 9-1 to take 1-0 lead in Western Division Finals

September 8, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL) Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

CLINTON, IA - After two straight complete game shutouts by Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers to close out the Burlington Bees in the first round of the Midwest League playoffs, the Wisconsin offense took over in Game One of the Western Division Finals at Clinton. The Rattlers defeated the LumberKings 9-1 behind a twelve hit attack that included consecutive home runs in the fourth inning.

Dan Paolini put the LumberKings in front in the bottom of the first inning. Paolini, who hit eighteen homers in the regular season, cracked a 2-1 pitch from Rattlers starting pitcher Chad Thompson to left-center for a solo homer and a 1-0 lead.

It took Wisconsin's bats a few innings to find the range on Clinton starting pitcher Rusty Shellhorn, but once they did, the barrage was impressive.

Ben McMahan began the Rattlers first extended rally with a one out single in the fourth inning. Then, Nick Ramirez was hit by a pitch to set the stage for Yadiel Rivera. The Rattlers shortstop lined a 1-0 pitch from the Clinton left-hander over the wall in left for a three-run homer and a 3-1 lead. Mike Garza followed by crushing an 0-2 pitch deep into the night. The back-to-back homers gave Wisconsin a 4-1 advantage.

Wisconsin really got going in the fifth inning as they strung together six consecutive hits and scored five runs. Brandon Macias doubled with one out and Chadwin Stang's infield single placed runners on first and third. McMahan doubled in Macias. Then, Ramirez doubled to drive in two more runs to knock Shellhorn out of the game.

Rivera greeted reliever Josh Corrales to the game with an RBI single. Garza would single to complete the streak of six straight hits. Corrales got the second out of the inning. Then, Rafael Neda picked up an RBI single to make it 9-1.

Thompson cruised after giving up the homer to Paolini in the first inning. He tossed six innings and struck out ten, a professional single game high. At one point in the game, Thompson struck out six straight LumberKings. In the third inning, Thompson struck out the side on nine pitches. It doesn't get much better than that.

Stosh Wawrzasek struck out four in two scoreless innings and Santo Manzanillo picked up two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the LumberKings. The trio of Rattlers pitchers struck out sixteen Clinton batters in the game.

The Timber Rattlers have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. A win in either Game Two or Game Three will send the Timber Rattlers to the Midwest League Finals for the fourth time in team history.

Game Two of the Western Division Finals is Sunday at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Mark Williams (7-10, 3.88) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Seon-Gi Kim (4-4, 4.59) is set to start for the LumberKings. Game time is 7:05pm.

Sunday night is a Bang for Your Buck Night with soda, hotdogs, and beer for $1. Sunday is also a College Night with reserved seat bleacher tickets available for $1 when fans show a college ID at the ticket window.

If you can't make it out to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45pm. Sunday's game is available to subscribers of MiLB.TV, too.

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Midwest League Stories from September 8, 2012


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