Rattlers' Reed legs out three triples

Class A Wisconsin outfielder Michael Reed considers speed one of the biggest parts of his game, but he surprised even himself on Wednesday night.

The Brewers prospect collected three triples, drove in one run and scored another as the Timber Rattlers outlasted the Quad Cities River Bandits, 12-5, in 11 innings at Modern Woodmen Park.

The triples tied the Midwest League record, set in 1950 by Andy Smith of the Mattoon Indians -- then of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League -- and matched by Quincy Giants teenager Oscar Flores in 1960 and Jason Smith of the Rockford Cubbies in 1998.

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"It's awesome. It's actually the first time," Reed said. "I've had two [in a game] in high school, but this is a wonderful blessing. The Lord gave me the chance to play baseball in the first place and it's a blessing to be part of history."

Selected in the fifth round of the 2011 Draft out of Leander High School in Texas, the 20-year-old laced a two-out triple to right field off starter Jordan Jankowski in the third inning, then went the other way again in the fifth off Mitch Lambson to score Alfredo Rodriguez.

In the 11th, Reed pulled an offering from Richard Rodríguez to left field for his record-tying third triple before scoring on Mitch Haniger's double.

"The first at-bat, he threw me a lot of off-speed curveballs, so I went to the plate with that in the back of my mind," Reed said of his first triple. "I was sitting fastball but reacting to the curveball. He left [a curveball] up in the zone and I took it the other way.

"I know if I hit it in the right-center field gap, there's a possibility that I can get three bases. It's a big park. The second triple was a line drive over the right fielder's head and the third was over the center fielder's head. The first one, I went in sliding. The second and third, I got in standing up."

Reed, who plays right field and hits second in the Timber Rattlers lineup, raised his average to .311 and more than doubled his triples total from two to five. After totaling three triples in 76 games in his first two years in the Minor Leagues, he's tied for third in the Midwest League behind Bowling Green's Andrew Toles (eight) and Cedar Rapids' Jorge Polanco (six).

"[My teammates] were excited for me and they congratulated me," said Reed, who missed time for Rookie-level Helena last season after he was hit by a pitch on the right index finger. "I have great teammates and they made me feel good about it.

"I consider myself a fast guy. I have pretty good speed and speed is a big part of my game. But tomorrow is another day. I can enjoy this through the night, but when I step on the field tomorrow, it's a new day. I can't get complacent."

Brewers No. 9 prospectClint Coulter smacked a two-run homer in the second, then delivered an RBI single and scored in the 11th for Wisconsin. Alfredo Rodriguez also had three hits, drove in two runs and scored twice.