Chiefs Hold Off Rattlers Tuesday

Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in game one of a three-game set on Tuesday by a final of 6-5. The Chiefs are 20-31 overall with game two scheduled for Wednesday with a 7:00 PM first pitch at Dozer Park.
    The Timber Rattlers took the lead in the first inning against Chiefs starter Bryan Dobzanski. Joantgel Segovia singled and went to third when Tucker Neuhaus hit a one-out single to center. Monte Harrison beat a relay throw at first base to stay out of a double play and allowed Segovia to score and make it 1-0 Wisconsin.

Dobzanski walked Jose Cuas to start the second inning and Trever Morrison singled to center field giving Wisconsin runners at the corners with no outs. Demi Orimoloye hit a sacrifice fly to shallow center field that brought home Cuas to give the Timber Rattlers a 2-0 advantage.
    The Chiefs got on the board against Wisconsin starter David Burkhalter in the second inning. Brian O'Keefe led off with a double to left-center field and went to third when Ryan McCarvel singled to left. Vince Jackson drove home the Chiefs first run of the game with a single down the line in left to make it a 2-1 deficit. Jose Martinez singled to right to load the bases for Peoria, and Nick Plummer brought home McCarvel on a sacrifice fly to deep right field to tie the game at 2-2. Shane Billings grounded into a fielder's choice at shortstop as Jackson scored on the play to give the Chiefs their first lead of the day, 3-2.
    Andy Young led off the third against Burkhalter with a home run to left field, his ninth of the year, and gave Peoria a 4-2 lead. O'Keefe hit his fourth home run of the season to left just two hitters later to extend the Chiefs lead to 5-2.
    Jose Cuas led off the fourth inning with a triple against Dobzanski to center field for Wisconsin. The Chiefs starter was able to strike out Morrison and get Caleb Whalen to ground out to second base, but Cuas scored on the play to reduce Peoria's lead to 5-3.
    With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Shane Billings singled and stole second against Rattlers reliever Nattino Diplan. J.R. Davis singled to bring home Billings and extended Peoria's lead, 6-3.
    Dewin Perez issued a two-out walk to Harrison in the seventh, who went to third when Ryan Aguilar singled. Harrison scored on an error by Martinez at third to cut into the Chiefs lead, 6-4.
     In the eighth Max Almonte struck out the first two hitters of the inning but walked Mario Feliciano who moved to third when Joantgel Segovia singled to left field. Yeison Medina came out of the bullpen for the Chiefs and struck out Neuhaus swinging, but the final pitch of the at-bat was a wild pitch that got past O'Keefe and allowed Feliciano to score and make it a 6-4 game. Medina struck out Harrison to leave the tying run on base and end the inning.
     In the ninth Aguilar and Cuas both walked against Medina and moved to second and third when Morrison bunted for the first out of the inning. Medina struck out Whalen and Orimoloye to end the game, giving the Chiefs a 6-5 win.
    Dobzanski (1-4) won his first game of the year while throwing five innings while allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Perez threw 1 2/3 innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits, two walks, and struck out one in the hold. Almonte also had a hold while giving up one run on one hit, one walk, and striking out three. Medina earned his second save of the year without allowing a hit or a run over 1 1/3 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Notes… Dobzanski snapped a six-game personal losing streak with his first win of the season tonight… Young has homered in three consecutive games and on four straight days dating back to game one of the double header on Saturday in Burlington… O'Keefe's homer in the third is his seventh against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in his career, and ties him for 13^th on the Chiefs career regular season home run list with 22…He is tied for fourth in Dozer Park history with 11 regular season home runs…Martinez, O'Keefe, and Young all extended their hit streaks to three games…The Timber Rattlers were 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base...Billings stole two bases in a game for the second time this season, and now leads the team with six… Seven Chiefs had base hits in tonight's game with O'Keefe being the only one to have a multi-hit game… Peoria left three runners on base… Peoria has now scored 32 runs in the third inning this season, more than any other inning… The Chiefs will play game two against the Timber Rattlers on Wednesday… Wednesday is Bang for your Buck Wednesday, where fans can get $1 hot dogs, soda, and nachos… Game two of the series is Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. as the Chiefs send RH Mike O'Reilly (2-1, 1.64) to the mound against Wisconsin RHP Zack Brown (2-2, 5.22)… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:45 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android…The broadcast is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network in the Tune-In Radio App.