Black and the Rattlers Win on Another Walkoff

GRAND CHUTE, WI – The walkoff celebration is getting to be a habit for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Tyler Black’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning sent the Rattlers to a 6-5 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers had a 5-1 lead, let it get away late, but managed their second straight walkoff win over the Bandits on Black’s big hit.

Click here for the boxscore of this game

Wisconsin (9-3) scored four times in the bottom of the third and knocked Quad Cities starting pitcher Noah Murdock out of the game. Sal Frelick started the rally by drawing a walk with one out. Tyler Black followed with a double down the line in left and Frelick scored. Then, Joe Gray Jr singled and Darrien Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Wes Clarke drew a walk to send Black home. Zavier Warren was next to bat for the Rattlers and he singled to center to score Gray and chase Murdock from the game.

Emilio Marquez entered the game and allowed a run to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Carlos Rodríguez before getting the final out of the inning and Wisconsin had a 4-0 lead.

The River Bandits (4-8) got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning when Burle Dixon hit a long home run to right with one out.

That home run was the only run allowed by Wisconsin starting pitcher TJ Shook. The right-hander went 5-2/3 innings, allowed two hits, walked two, hit two batters, and struck out seven.

Shook did need a little help to escape a jam in the top of the sixth. He walked the lead-off batter and retired the next two hitters but issued another walk and hit a batter to load the bases. Brady Schanuel took over for Shook and got the final out on a flyout to center.

Ernesto Martínez Jr cracked a solo home run for the Rattlers in the bottom of the sixth. The long drive easily cleared the fence in right-center 405 feet from home plate. It was the second homer of the season for Martínez and gave the Rattlers a 5-1 advantage.

Max Lazar, Wisconsin’s third pitcher of the night, took over for the top of the seventh and got the first two batters of the inning on a grounder and a strikeout. However, the next three Quad Cities batters reached base to bring the tying run to the plate. Lazar got the final out on a flyout to right to maintain the lead.

Quad Cities had a runner at first with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Then, Parker Bates singled on a 3-2 pitch to put runners at the corners. Cam Williams hit the next pitch from Lazar into the Quad Cities bullpen in left-center and the Wisconsin lead was down to a single run.

The Bandits tied the game in the top of the ninth against Cam Robinson. Diego Hernandez reached with one out on a ball chopped off the plate. He raced to first for an infield single while Robinson waited for the ball to come down.

Martínez started the game winning rally in the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off walk and a steal of second base to get into scoring position. Quad Cities got the first out of the inning and elected to walk Frelick intentionally. Black foiled that strategy by lining a single to left-center. Martínez streaked home to score the winning run.

Black has two walkoff hits this season. He had a two-run, game-winning single to beat Peoria in the second game of a doubleheader on April 10. Black is also on a four-game hitting streak (7-for-15).

The Timber Rattlers have four walkoff wins in six home games this season. They are also 6-3 in games decided by one run.

Game four of the series is Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Antoine Kelly (0-0, 4.15) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Tyson Guerrero (0-1, 5.87) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 6:40pm.

Friday night a Supper Club Friday from Arty’s and 101.1 WIXX with fans of legal drinking age able to purchase Arty’s Supper Club Cocktails for half-price. After the game, children twelve and under may run the bases courtesy of Menasha Corporation.

Friday is also an opportunity to help Goodwill NCW by bringing a donation of clothes, shoes, coats, books, purses, kitchenware, accessories, home décor, and more between 4:30 and 6:30p for a Donation Event sponsored by Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste. Members of the Goodwill NCW Resources Team will also be available to talk with those interested in a career at Goodwill.

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 6:20pm. The broadcast is also available to subscribers of MiLB.tv.