Rattlers Rally Falls Short in 8-7 Loss

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers staged a valiant effort as they rallied to within a run after trailing 8-1 on Monday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. But, the Quad Cities River Bandits held on to defeat the Rattlers 8-7 and win three of four games in the series.

Wisconsin (51-74 overall, 25-32 second half) took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Ryan Aguilar singled to start the inning against River Bandits starting pitcher Yohan Ramirez. Mitch Ghelfi was hit by a pitch with one out and Dallas Carroll drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Ronnie Gideon gave the Rattlers the lead by drawing a based loaded walk to force in Aguilar. Wisconsin still had the bases loaded with one out, but could not add to their lead.

Quad Cities (74-51, 37-20) took the lead in the top of the second inning as they scored four runs with two outs off Rattlers starter Carlos Herrera. Ronnie Dawson singled with runners at second and third to knock in the first two runs of the inning. Dawson took second on the throw to the plate. Chuckie Robinson followed with an RBI single to score Dawson. Then, Troy Sieber followed with a double to score Robinson all the way from first and the Bandits were up 4-1.

Abraham Toro-Hernandez made it 5-1 with a solo homer in the top of the third off Herrera. 

Reliever Jordan Desguin took over for Herrera to start the fourth inning and got two quick outs. But, the third out was elusive. Chuckie Robinson hit a grounder up the first baseline that started foul, but came back fair and rolled down the line in right for a double. Sieber followed with a bloop single to center. Daz Cameron was next and he cranked a two-run homer to give the River Bandits an 8-1 lead.

The Rattlers started to chip away at the Quad Cities lead in the fourth inning when Trever Morrison hit a solo homer. In the fifth, Aguilar hit a two-run home run and the Rattlers were within 8-4.

Wisconsin loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Mitch Ghelfi's grounder to second was booted for an error and two runs scored on the play to pull the Rattlers to within 8-6. They would reload the bases with one out, but reliever Jesus Balaguer entered the game from the Quad Cities bullpen and retired the next two batters to keep the Rattlers down by two.

Balaguer retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, but Aguilar started a rally in the Wisconsin ninth by drawing a lead-off walk. Mario Feliciano was next and his single to right-center sent Aguilar to third base. Ghelfi was next, but he lined out to first and Wander Franco caught the ball near the base. He casually stepped on first to double up Feliciano for the unassisted double play.

Carroll gave the Rattlers hope by blooping a single to right to score Aguilar and bring the winning run to the plate. But, Balaguer ended the game with a strikeout.
The Timber Rattlers begin a series with the Peoria Chiefs on Tuesday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Game time is 7:05pm.
The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a Sam Dekker bobblehead courtesy of Cher-Make Sausage. Sam Dekker will be on hand for the game and is available for a pregame meet & greet, but space is limited so call (920) 733-4152 for details on availability.

Tuesday is also Strike Out Cancer Day with McClone and Bergstrom Automotive. The Timber Rattlers players and coaches will be wearing jerseys based on the University of Wisconsin. These jerseys are available in an online auction through www.timberrattlersauctions.com until the auction ends at 9:00pm on Tuesday.   Proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Timber Rattlers Charity Fund to benefit the Children's Cancer Family Foundation of Northeast Wisconsin. 

Show your business card when you purchase a ticket and for $14.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. The offer is also available to senior citizens (55 & older) and military personnel courtesy of Baker Tilly, WVBO, and AM1280 WNAM.
If you can't make it to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow 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 TuneIn Radio, IHeartRadio, and MiLB.tv.