Timber Rattlers Sweep Doubleheader

GRAND CHUTE – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers stayed on a roll with a 7-3 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  The Rattlers withstood a bumpy start before taking a big lead and cruising to the win.

Quad Cities (4-9) threatened to score in the first inning against Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Antoine Kelly.  Tyler Tolbert singled to start the game and stole second.  Then, Herard Gonzalez drew a walk and the pair of base runners pulled a double steal.  Kelly got the first out when Tolbert tried to score on a grounder to third but was out at the plate.  Kelly walked the next batter and the bases were loaded.  He would escape the inning with no damage with a strikeout and a grounder.

Wisconsin (10-3) grabbed the lead in the second inning.  Ernesto Martínez Jr doubled and stole third base to start the inning.  Carlos Rodríguez drove in Martínez with a sacrifice fly to deep left for the 1-0 advantage.

The Timber Rattlers kept the pressure on Quad Cities in the third inning.  Antonio Piñero started the inning with a double and went to third on a wild pitch.  Sal Frelick walked to put runners on the corners and Tyler Black followed with a single to left to score Piñero and send Frelick to third base. 

Tyson Guerrero, the River Bandits starting pitcher, walked Joe Gray Jr to load the bases, committed a balk to score Frelick, and walked Wes Clarke to reload the bases.  Martínez capped the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-0 lead.

Frelick added to the Wisconsin lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

Kelly was in charge after the first inning.  The single by Tolbert was the only hit he allowed over his five scoreless innings.  Kelly walked four and struck out seven before turning the game over and a 5-0 lead to the bullpen.  Plus, the defense turned a pair of nifty 6-4-3 double plays behind him in the second and fourth inning.

Martínez added to Wisconsin’s lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run double.

The River Bandits got on the scoreboard with a three-run home run by Cam Williams in the top of the seventh inning.  They would get no closer.

Wisconsin has won four straight games.  Quad Cities has lost six in a row.

GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored all their runs in the fifth inning of game two of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Quad Cities River Bandits at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  The Rattlers won the nightcap 5-2.  The Rattlers had a 7-3 victory in game one and recorded the doubleheader sweep.

Morgan McCullough put Quad Cities (4-10) in the lead with a one-out, solo home run in the top of the third inning.

Wisconsin (11-3) was quiet through the first four innings.  They got very loud with in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead.  The Rattlers cracked five straight hits to open the frame and added a sixth hit in the inning to score five runs.

Zavier Warren and Carlos Rodríguez started the onslaught with back-to-back singles.  Tristan Peters tied the game with a double to center to score Warren.  Yeison Coca was next and his fly ball to left carried to the base of the wall in left for a double.  Rodríguez scored the go-ahead run, but Peters could only make third on the hit.  Sal Frelick made it a moot point with a sharp single to center to score both Peters and Coca for a 4-1 lead.  Joe Gray Jr capped the inning with a one-out, RBI single to score Frelick for a 5-1 lead.

Brandon Knarr, the Rattlers starting pitcher, allowed a one-out homer to Luca Tresh in the top of the sixth inning and left the game after giving up a two-out triple in the sixth.  Knarr scattered five hits, walked one, and struck out seven over his 5-2/3 innings.

The Rattlers bullpen nailed down the win in the nightcap and the doubleheader sweep.  Kent Hasler got the final out of the sixth and James Meeker pitched a perfect seventh for his second save of the season.

Warren, Rodríguez, Peters, and Gray each had two hits in game two as the Rattlers totaled eleven hits in the contest.

The Timber Rattlers have won five games in a row.

The final game of the series is Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Justin Jarvis (1-0, 4.73) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin.  The River Bandits have named Charlie Neuweiler (0-2, 9.00) as their starter.  Game time is 1:10pm.

The first 1,000 fans to attend Sunday’s game will receive a bobblehead of former Timber Rattlers outfielder and Brewers’ outfield prospect Garrett Mitchell courtesy of Ansay & Associates.  Fans will be allowed on the outfield from noon to 12:30 to play catch prior to this game courtesy of Chick-fil-A.  It’s a Brewers Sunday with 107.5, The Fan with Timber Rattlers players and coaches wearing their 2022 Brewers-themed jerseys and caps.  Players will be available for autographs with fans in a postgame autograph session courtesy of Tundraland.

If you can’t make it out to the stadium, there are several ways to catch the action.  The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM and internet audio starting with the pregame show at 12:50pm.  The broadcast is also available to subscribers of MiLB.tv.