MWL1 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Rattlers rally to beat River Bandits in ten innings

Published on August 20, 2015 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers News Release


DAVENPORT, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored twice with two outs in the top of the ninth inning and three times with two outs in the top of the tenth inning to stun the Quad Cities River Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park on Thursday night. Wisconsin picked up a 7-4 win in extra innings over their Western Division rivals.

Wisconsin (41-80 overall, 18-33 second half) grabbed the lead in the top of the first inning. Elvis Rubio doubled with two outs. He went to third on an errant pickoff throw by Quad Cities starting pitcher Agapito Barrios. Barrios would strike out Tucker Neuhaus but the ball made it to the backstop for a wild pitch that allowed Rubio to score and Neuhaus to reach first.

The River Bandits (77-43, 32-20) answered in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Tanielu singled with two outs and moved to second when Rattlers starting pitcher Eric Hanhold walked Bryan Muniz. Then, Drew Ferguson singled to drive in Tanielu and the game was tied 1-1.

Quad Cities took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Ramon Laureano started the inning with a single and stole second. Kristian Trompiz doubled to left with one out to knock in Laureano with the go-ahead run. Bobby Boyd followed with a single to score Trompiz for a 3-1 lead.

Boyd made it 4-1 in the top of the fourth inning. Trompiz doubled with one out. Boyd doubled into the left field corner to send Trompiz home, but Boyd was out trying to stretch the hit into a triple,.

Agapito Barrios kept the Rattlers in check after the first inning and through the fifth, but in the sixth the Rattlers staged a rally against the Quad Cities starting pitcher. Rubio singled to start the frame and a botched double play opportunity allowed Neuhaus to reach. Francisco Castillo's sharp single to left didn't allow Rubio a chance to score, but the Rattlers had the bases loaded with no out.

Sthervin Matos was robbed of extra bases when his screaming liner down the third base line was snagged by Tanielu with a back-handed grab for the first out of the inning. That was the end of the night for Barrios.

Mitch Meyer greeted reliever Zach Davis with an infield single to score Rubio and the Rattlers were within two runs. But, Davis left the bases loaded by getting a popup and a force play at second to end the inning.

Natanael Mejia, who had two hits in the game, started the Wisconsin rally in the ninth with a one-out single. Omar Cotto pinch-ran for Mejia and would take second base on defensive indifference with two outs. Alan Sharkey lined a single to right-center to drive in Cotto and the Rattlers were within a run.

Blake Allemand, who was hitless in his first four at bats of the game, lined a double on the first pitch he saw in the ninth to drive in Sharkey with the tying run. Allemand also extended his current hitting streak to nine games with that clutch double.

The River Bandits had runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Scott Lieser escaped the inning. Bryan Muniz sent a grounder to short and Allemand's throw to the plate got the runner. Drew Ferguson grounded out to second and the game went to extra innings.

The game appeared as if it would go to the bottom of the tenth with the game still tied 4-4 as the first two Wisconsin hitters in the inning were retired.

Matos started the rally with an infield single and Meyer continued the rally by taking advantage of a defensive shift and dropping a bunt single. Greg McCall, who entered the game as the Timber Rattlers catcher in the bottom of the ninth, drew a walk to load the bases.

Luis Aviles gave the Rattlers the lead with an infield single. Sharkey gave Wisconsin breathing room with a sharp, two-run single to right and the Rattlers were up 7-4.

Lieser pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth to close out the game.

Thursday night marked a pair of firsts for the Timber Rattlers. The win in Quad Cities was the first for Wisconsin at Modern Woodmen Park this season. They finish the season 1-8 at the home of the playoff-bound Bandits, Thursday was also the first time Wisconsin won a game that they trailed heading into the ninth inning. They had been 0-63 in that situation prior to Thursday night.

The Timber Rattlers continue their road trip with the first game of a three-game series against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park on Friday night. Cody Ponce (1-1, 1.29) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Dewin Perez (2-4, 6.56) is set to start for the Chiefs. Game time is 7:00pm.

The radio broadcast of Thursday's game is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. The broadcast is also available on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio.

Check out the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from August 20, 2015


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