Wisconsin Scores Early and Late to Get By Great Lakes
Published on May 23, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers News Release
MIDLAND, MI - It was a dark and rainy night at Dow Diamond on Saturday night. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers outlasted the Great Lakes Loons 11-4 in a three-hour and forty-three-minute marathon to win their third game of the series from the team with the best record in the Midwest League. Andrew Fischer had three hits, including an important two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, and drove in three runs to lead the Rattlers 14-hit attack in a steady mist through the unseasonably cool evening.
The Loons (27-16) scored a run in the bottom of the first after there were two outs and none on base. Kole Myers doubled with two out. Wisconsin starter Ethan Dorchies walked the next two batters to load the bases and threw a wild pitch to allow Myers to score. Another walk reloaded the bases before Dorchies ended the inning with a strikeout. He would not allow another run over his next two innings before leaving the game.
The Rattlers (23-18) struck quickly in the top of the second to take the lead. Juan Baez and Tayden Hall started the inning with singles. Luiyin Alastre followed with a triple to right to drive home both runners for a 2-1 lead. Josiah Ragsdale knocked in Alastre with a single. Ragsdale would score on a wild pitch for a 4-1 lead.
A two-out error with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning let the Rattlers add a run to their lead.
Fischer made it 6-1 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.
Great Lakes chipped away at that Rattler lead. Jose Meza hit a lead-off home run in the bottom of the sixth against Wisconsin reliever Jason Woodward. Myers had a two-out, RBI double in the seventh against Woodward. A walk to Meza ended Woodward's night.
Bjorn Johnson had to come out of the bullpen for Woodward with the tying run at the plate. He struck out Victor Rodrigues on three pitches to end the inning.
Johnson gave up a lead-off single in the eighth but retired the next two batters. A walk to the number nine hitter in the Loons order brought Chuck Davalan to the plate as the tying run. Davalan, the #7 prospect in the Dodgers system, pounced on the first pitch from Johnson for a single to knock in a run to cut the Loons deficit to two runs. Emil Morales, the #5 prospect in the Dodgers system, stepped in as the go-ahead run for the Loons, but Johnson stayed composed and got the strikeout to maintain the 6-4 lead.
Wisconsin's bats gave Johnson plenty of breathing room in the top of the ninth. Ragsdale singled with one out for his second consecutive three-hit game in the lead-off spot for the Rattlers. Fischer followed with a towering drive down the line in right for his thirteenth home run of the season and an 8-4 advantage.
Later in the ninth, Juan Baez added an RBI single for more insurance. A run-scoring passed ball, and a run-scoring wild pitch allowed the final two runs of the game to score for the Rattlers.
Johnson walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Then, a flyout to right and a 6-4-3 double play ended the game for his second save of the season.
Woodward, who missed the entire 2025 season with an injury, earned his first professional victory with his performance on Saturday night. He went 3-2/3 innings for the longest outing of his professional career, allowed two runs - one earned - and struck out four.
Thomas Dillard, who hit sixteen homers in 78 games during the 2021 season, holds the record the most homers hit in a season by a Wisconsin player since the Timber Rattlers moved to the High-A classification of Minor League Baseball that same season. Only Dillard, Joe Gray, Jr (15 homers in 123 games in 2022), and Hedbert P é rez (14 homers in 84 games in 2025) have hit more High-A homers as a Rattler than Fischer, who has thirteen homers in 37 games in 2026.
The series finale at Dow Diamond is Sunday afternoon and it features a rematch from game one for the pitching matchup. Wande Torres (3-2, 5.19) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Great Lakes has Sterling Patick (0-2, 4.89) as their starter. Game time is 12:05pm CDT. Newstalk 93.9 WOSH and internet audio has the radio broadcast starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 11:45am.
R H E
WIS 040 110 005 - 11 14 0
GL 100 001 110 - 4 7 2
Click here for the boxscore
Click here for the scoring plays
HOME RUNS:
WIS:
Andrew Fischer (13th, 1 on in 9th inning off Matt Lanzendorfer, 1 out)
GL:
Jose Meza (4th, 0 on in 6th inning off Jason Woodward, 0 out)
WP: Jason Woodward (1-0)
LP: Brooks Auger (0-1)
SV: Bjorn Johnson (2)
TIME: 3:43
ATTN: 3,415
Midwest League Stories from May 23, 2026
- Captains Defeat Lugnuts, 9-3, Secure Series Win - Lake County Captains
- Chiefs Power Past Kernels to Take Series Lead - Peoria Chiefs
- Five-Run Third Lifts Chiefs Past Kernels, 7-2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Bullpen Shines in 5-3 Loss - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Wisconsin Scores Early and Late to Get By Great Lakes - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Timber Rattlers Overwhelm Loons, 11-4 - Great Lakes Loons
- Cubs Hang on to Early Lead in 5-3 Win at West Michigan - South Bend Cubs
- Whitecaps Roster Update 5-21-26 - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Cubs Hang on to Early Lead in 5-3 Win at West Michigan - South Bend Cubs
- Despite Hit Disparity, Lugnuts Fall to Captains, 9-3 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Fort Wayne Blanked in Saturday Night Showcase - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- McCoy Shines in Dragons Debut as Dayton Notches Shutout Win in Fort Wayne, 5-0 - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Information: May 23 vs. Dayton Dragons (Reds Affiliate) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (6:35 PM at Fort Wayne) - Dayton Dragons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
