Hawks' Rally Falls Short, Bitten Rattlers' Grand Slam

April 12, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


Clint Coulter's grand slam in the third inning sparked the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (5-4) to a 6-4 victory over the South Bend Silver Hawks (4-5) on Saturday night at Four Winds Field. Wisconsin starter Preston Gainey (1-0) shut down the Hawks' bats as he limited South Bend to one unearned run on two hits and eight strikeouts over six innings to earn the win.

South Bend, the Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, third baseman Joe Munoz singled up the middle. He advanced to second on a passed ball by catcher Rafael Neda. Gainey then uncorked a wild pitch. Neda gunned the ball down to third but the throw was in the dirt and kicked into left field, allowing Munoz to race home with the first run of the game.

The lead did not last long for the Silver Hawks as Wisconsin, the Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, struck back with four runs in the top of the third. Hawks starter Blake Perry (0-1) struck out the first two batters of the inning before surrendering consecutive singles to right fielder Michael Ratterree and left fielder Jose Pena. Perry looked to be out of the inning when first baseman David Denson took a 3-2 pitch that seemed to catch a lot of the plate but was controversially ruled ball four and the bases were loaded. Hawks manager Mark Haley came out to try to settle down Perry and have a brief conversation with home plate umpire Kirk Struble. It did not have the desired effect as designated hitter Coulter hammered a 3-1 pitch over the left field fence and into the bouncy castle for a grand slam and a 4-1 Timber Rattlers lead. After the end of the third inning, Haley came out to continue his discussion with Struble and was subsequently ejected from the game.

Wisconsin added to their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning off of Hawks reliever Blayne Weller. Center fielder Omar Garcia led off the inning with an infield single off the glove of a diving Munoz at third. Second baseman Chris McFarland followed with a single to center that put runners at first and second with no outs. Will Locante entered the game in place of Weller. With Ratterree at the plate, Garcia and McFarland pulled off a double steal, advancing the runners to second and third. Locante struck out Ratterree but then tossed a wild pitch that scored Garcia and moved McFarland to third. With the infield in, Pena hit a high chopper to short that scored McFarland and made it a 6-1 Wisconsin lead.

The Silver Hawks mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to close the gap against Timber Rattlers reliever Tyler Spurlin. Center fielder Colin Bray led off the inning with a long fly ball homer over the right field wall to cut the lead to 6-2. Shortstop Andrew Velazquez followed with a line drive double down the left field line. Second baseman Jamie Westbrook also doubled, driving in Velazquez and making it a three-run game. After a trip to the mound, Spurlin settled down, recording back-to-back groundouts to second. However, the groundouts advanced Westbrook to third and then to home, cutting into the lead even further at 6-4. Munoz singled to center with two outs bringing the tying run to the plate and forcing a Wisconsin call to the bullpen. Chris Razo (S, 1) came in to the game and got catcher Michael Perez to ground out to second to end the inning. Razo proceeded to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the game for the Timber Rattlers.

The Hawks and Timber Rattlers wrap up the three game series with a Sunday matinee. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05. Zach Quintana (0-0, 2.25 ERA) gets the start for Wisconsin while Austin Platt (0-0, 4.91 ERA) will take the mound for the Silver Hawks. It is Family and Swoop Troop Day at Four Winds Field with a pre-game catch on the field starting at 1:15pm and a post-game autograph session with Silver Hawks players. It is also your last chance to get your free Silver Hawks magnet schedules as 1,000 of them will be given out at the gates to early arriving fans.



Midwest League Stories from April 12, 2014


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