Wisconsin Takes Down Chiefs in Extra Innings

PEORIA, IL – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers almost let one get away to waste another terrific performance by starting pitcher Mark Manfredi on Wednesday afternoon at Dozer Park. The Peoria Chiefs tied the game 2-2 with an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth inning after Wisconsin had led since the first inning. Clutch relief work from Craig Yoho and a two-out RBI single by Jadher Areinamo in the tenth delivered Wisconsin a 3-2 victory.

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The Timber Rattlers (11-6) took the lead with a two-out rally in the top of the first. Gregory Barrios drew a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Luke Adams followed with a bloop single to right to chase Barrios across the plate for a 1-0 lead.

Adams added to the Wisconsin advantage in the third inning with a two-out, RBI double off the wall in right to score Luis Lara from second base.

Peoria (7-10) got to Manfredi in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Chiefs had runners on the corners with one out. Won-Bin Cho sent a weak grounder to first for an out to score the run from third. Manfredi ended the inning with his eighth strikeout to strand the tying run in scoring position.

Manfredi allowed one run, walked two, hit one, and allowed four hits in five innings. In his last two appearances, Manfredi has sixteen strikeouts over nine innings.

Tate Kuehner took over for Manfredi in the sixth and maintained the lead until the eighth.

Wisconsin’s offense had chances to add to their lead. In the sixth, they had runners at first and second with one out. In the seventh, Eduarqui Fernández had a lead-off double. In the eighth, the Rattlers loaded the bases with two outs. They did not score, and it would cost them.

Peoria’s Osvaldo Tovalin blooped a single to left with one out. He moved to second on a weak ground ball that was the second out of the inning. Dakota Harris sent a grounder to Adams at third for what looked like the final out. However, the throw was wild and got past first baseman Ben Metzinger to allow Tovalin to score the tying run.

Kuehner got the final out of the eighth to keep the game tied. The Rattlers went down in order in the ninth. Yoho struck out the side in order in the bottom of the ninth and both teams went to extra innings for the first time this season.

The Rattlers nearly wasted their opportunity in the tenth. Luis Lara started the inning at second base and moved to third on a grounder to the right side of the infield by Barrios. Adams was next and hit a hard grounder near the third base bag. Peoria third baseman Anyelo Encarnacion made the play and almost tagged out Lara as the Rattlers base runner scrambled back to safety. Encarnacion still managed to get Adams at first for the second out.

That brought Areinamo to the plate. He dropped a single to right on a 2-1 pitch to score Lara with the go-ahead run. Areinamo went 3-for-5 in the game with three singles in his final three plate appearances.

Yoho went back out for the tenth inning with the tying run placed on second base for Peoria to start the inning. Yoho got the first out on a popup and the second out on a grounder to Areinamo at second that allowed the tying run to take third base. Yoho took all the drama out of the moment by striking out Leonardo Bernal on three straight pitches, including a called third strike to end the game and give the Rattlers the victory.

Game three of the series is Thursday night at Dozer Park. Will Rudy (0-1, 6.23) has been announced as the starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Cooper Hjerpe (0-0, 4.70) is set to start for Peoria. Game time is 6:35pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Fans can also listen to the audio on the internet or watch the game on the Bally Live App.