Morrison Delivers Big Hit for a Rattlers Win

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Quad Cities River Bandits 4-3 on Wednesday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Trever Morrison provided the winning margin with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to turn a 3-2 River Bandits lead into a 4-3 Wisconsin advantage.
Quad Cities (32-27) scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to break open the scoreless contest. Wisconsin starting pitcher Nelson Hernández gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning before recording the first out of the frame with his fifth strikeouts. However, Alfredo Angarita followed with a triple to right to drive in both runners for a 2-0 lead. Jonathan Lacroix was next and his single send Angarita home. Hernández worked out of the inning without further damage as he got an inning-ending double play.

The Rattlers (27-32) answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth against Quad Cities starter Enoli Paredes. Gilbert Lara started the rally with a double to snap a streak of eleven straight batters retired by Paredes. Kenny Corey doubled with one out to get Lara home. Jay Feliciano followed with a double to send Corey to third. An error on the play allowed Feliciano to take second and that was the end of the night for Paredes.

Reliever Yohan Ramirez entered the game and threw a wild pitch on his first pitch to allow Corey to score and the Rattlers were down 3-2.

Wisconsin went in front in the bottom of the seventh inning. Corey drew a lead-off walk and Feliciano was hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs against Ramirez. A sacrifice bunt by Zach Clark moved both runners into scoring position. Ramirez got the second out with a strikeout, but he couldn't get the third out before the Rattlers took the lead.

Morrison worked the count full before lining a pitch over the head of the left-fielder for a double that scored both runners to put Wisconsin ahead to stay.

The Rattlers received four scoreless innings out of their bullpen and two more key double plays from the defense.

Michael Peterson was the first Wisconsin reliever and he worked a 1-2-3 sixth and pitched around two hits in the seventh. He became the pitcher of record on the plus side when Morrison delivered his big hit in the bottom of the seventh.

Jose Cuas was the second Wisconsin reliever and he hit the leadoff batter to start the eighth inning, but kept the one-run lead by getting the next batter to ground a one-hopper back to him that was converted into a 1-4-3 double play. Cuas retired the next batter on a fly ball to end the inning.

Gabe Friese was the final Wisconsin reliever and he retired the first batter of the ninth before walking Bryan De La Cruz to bring the lead run to the plate. Friese nailed down his fifth save of the season by getting Adrian Tovalin to ground into a game-ending 4-3 double play.

The win was the second in a row for the Rattlers in the series and their third straight over the River Bandits dating back to a win in Davenport on May 24.
The final game of the three-game series is set for Thursday night. Carlos Herrera (0-3, 5.30) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities has named Cristian Javier (2-1, 1.87) as their starter. Game time is 7:05pm.

Thursday night is the annual Salute to Cows Night with Milk Source. Players and coaches will wear cow-patterned jerseys for this game and you may bid on these jerseys at timberrattlersauctions.com right now! There will be plenty to help celebrate this important Wisconsin industry with an appearance by Alice in Dairyland. Additionally, the first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a batting helmet ice cream dish from Milk Source. Plus, the Timber Rattlers and Cedar Crest offer a special deal at the ice cream stand with one free scoop when you purchase two scoops. Then, Lamers Dairy will have samples for fans as they leave the stadium.

Thursday night is also Craft Brews and Brats Night with The Score. Fans of legal drinking age may enjoy 12-ounce craft beers for $2. Cher-Make brats are also just $2 and they are available for everyone. Beers from Fox River Brewing Company, Badger Club Amber, and many, many more will be available. 

To wrap up the night, the Timber Rattlers Concert Series begins at the end of the seventh inning in the Fox Communities Credit Union Fox Club with a performance by The Mixtape.

If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are many ways to catch the action. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino Pregame Show at 6:45pm. The broadcast is also available on the Tune In and IHeart Radio apps. Fans with Spectrum cable may watch the game on Spectrum Sports starting at 7:00pm. Subscribers to MiLB.tv can watch the game over the internet.