Late Rally Pushes Wisconsin Past Beloit
BELOIT, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers didn’t let an early start, or a late deficit bother them on Sunday afternoon at ABC Supply Stadium. Wisconsin rallied from a 2-0 deficit with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings and three runs in the tenth to defeat the Beloit
BELOIT, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers didn’t let an early start, or a late deficit bother them on Sunday afternoon at ABC Supply Stadium. Wisconsin rallied from a 2-0 deficit with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings and three runs in the tenth to defeat the Beloit Sky Carp 5-3.
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The game started thirty minutes earlier than scheduled due to a forecast that called for thunderstorms in the early afternoon. It did rain lightly a few times during the game, but the storms never rolled through the area leading to a pleasant afternoon at the stadium.
It was not a pleasant start for the Timber Rattlers. Lead-off batter Mark Coley tripled to start the bottom of the first inning. Johnny Olmstead had a sacrifice fly to score Coley and the Sky Carp (45-48 overall, 15-15 second half) had a 1-0 lead.
Olmstead doubled the lead for Beloit with a solo homer in the third inning. The home run was Olmstead’s eleventh of the season.
Those were the only two runs allowed by Wisconsin starter Will Rudy. The right-hander allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out seven over five innings. Rudy matched his professional single-game high for strikeouts with his performance on Sunday.
The Rattlers (62-33, 20-9) scuffled for the first seven innings against the bullpen relay of Alex Williams, Josh Ekness, and Nigel Belgrave. Wisconsin managed two hits and had just one runner reach second over the first seven innings. Cade Gibson had been the scheduled starting pitcher for the Sky Carp, but he was scratched earlier on Sunday.
Eduarqui Fernández changed the momentum with a lead-off single in the eighth off Evan Taylor. Eduardo Garcia extended his hitting streak to eleven games with a one-out single and Luke Adams was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Matt Wood hit a grounder to first, but Beloit could only get the out at second for an RBI fielder’s choice.
The Rattlers rallied in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Ramόn Rodríguez singled and Tayden Hall walked to start the inning against Evan Taylor. A wild pitch with one out moved both runners into scoring position. Fernández delivered a single to right to score Rodríguez with the tying run, but Hall was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score.
Bayden Root, who came on for the Rattlers in the eighth, worked a scoreless ninth inning to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the tenth, Garcia gave Wisconsin the lead on the second pitch from Ignacio Feliz. Garcia ripped a double down the line in left to score Luis Lara from second base for the Rattlers first lead of the day. Later in the tenth, Felix Valerio singled to right to score two insurance runs for a 5-2 lead.
Root went back out for the bottom of the tenth and got the first out. Then, Josh Zamora, who had been 0-for-22 with ten strikeouts in the series, singled to left to score Coley. Root walked Brock Vradenburg to put the tying runs on base and bring the winning run to the plate.
The call went to the bullpen for Chase Costello to try to close out the game. Costello had already pitched twice in the series. On Tuesday night, he gave up three runs in the seventh inning for a blown save in a 3-2 loss. On Saturday night, Costello worked a perfect fifth inning in a 3-2 win.
Costello had to face Jorge Caballero first. Caballero had singled to start the rally against Costello in game one on Tuesday. On Sunday, Costello got the strikeout for the second out of the inning.
That brought Carlos Santiago to the plate. Santiago hit a game-tying homer off Costello on Tuesday. On Sunday, Santiago grounded the first pitch he saw from Costello to second base for a routine 4-3 putout to end the game.
Wisconsin won the series 4-2 from the Sky Carp. The Timber Rattlers finished the season series with their in-state rivals on Sunday with a 13-5 record in eighteen games.
The Timber Rattlers return home to start a series with the South Bend Cubs on Tuesday night at Neuroscience Group Field. Game time is 6:40pm CDT.
A special ticket package is available at this link for Tuesday’s Girls’ Night Out presented by Stacey Hennessey and Avenue Jewelers. Fans will receive a reserved bleacher seat for the game, a Rattlers-themed crossbody bag, and two drink vouchers. Help the Timber Rattlers and volunteers from Jake’s Network of Hope collect donations for their feminine hygiene product drive by bringing a donation to the front gate for this game. All fans who donate to the drive will receive a free ticket to a future Timber Rattlers game in 2024.
Tuesday is also a Bang for Your Buck Night. All fans may enjoy Cher-Make hotdogs and 16-ounce Pepsi Products for $2. Those of legal drinking age may purchase 16-ounce domestic beers for $2. Bang for Your Buck is presented by NEW Manufacturing Alliance in 2024.
If you can’t make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow the Timber Rattlers action. The game is available on tv-32 starting at 6:30pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show set to go at 6:20pm. The game is also available on the internet and the Bally Live App.