Resilient Chiefs Force Split of Saturday Twin Bill

APPLETON, WI – The Chiefs and Timber Rattlers split a doubleheader on Saturday at Fox Cities Stadium.

Wisconsin won going away in the opener, winning 8-1. In the nightcap, the Chiefs scored five unanswered runs to score a 5-2 victory.

GAME ONE:

In the resumption of Friday’s suspended game, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pulled away late to knock off the Chiefs 8-1.

The game was picked up in the fifth inning Saturday with Wisconsin clinging to a 1-0 lead.

Peoria forced a tie in the top of the seventh on a Johnfrank Salazar single, but the 1-1 deadlock was brief. Eduardo Garcia’s double scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to jolt Wisconsin back in front, 3-1. A Cooper Pratt RBI single capped off a three-run inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Wisconsin scored four more times. A Tayden Hall single made it 5-1. Then, Jheremy Vargas plated Matt Wood with a solid single to make it 6-1. Two more runs came around to score on a Michael Curialle throwing error to extend the lead to 8-1.

All told, the Chiefs recorded just four hits in the game. Jeferson Figueroa, who started the game upon the restart, scattered just two hits over four innings. He earned the win for Wisconsin.

GAME TWO:

The Chiefs fell into an early hole in the nightcap, committing four errors over the game’s first two innings. But, Peoria scored the final five runs to storm back to a 5-2 win.

In the bottom of the second, Wisconsin put runners at first and second with two outs. Luis Lara singled into center field to drive in a run. Eduarqui Fernandez, who was stationed at first, never stopped running, and attempted to score on the play. Chase Davis’s throw back to the infield eluded second baseman Tre Richardson, and Brayden Jobert threw high to the plate for the second of two errors on the play.

Peoria started to chip away at Wisconsin’s 2-0 lead in the fourth. Chase Adkison got the Chiefs on the board with a sac fly to center to make it 2-1.

In the fifth, the Chiefs appeared poised to post a crooked number. The offense loaded the bases with no one out, but had to settle for just one run on a Richardson RBI groundout.

Then, in the sixth, Adkison delivered again. After a two-out hit by pitch, Miguel Villarroel swiped second to place himself in scoring position. Adkison doubled to the gap in right center to give the Chiefs a lead they would not relinquish.

The Chiefs tacked on a pair of insurance tallies in the seventh via a Leonardo Bernal bases loaded walk and a wild pitch.

Chiefs starter Pete Hansen labored through multiple long innings on Saturday, but he worked into the fifth inning before departing. Reliever Tanner Jacobson was lights out in his place. Jacobson did not allow a run over 2 ⅔ innings. In the bottom of the sixth, he stranded both the tying and winning runs in scoring position. He logged the win in game two, his third victory of the season.

The series wraps up Sunday in Appleton.