Rattlers Strike for an 11-2 Win over Peoria

GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got back to the .500 mark with an 11-2 win over the Peoria Chiefs Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts to keep a potent Peoria lineup in check and the offense pulled away late with a six-run sixth inning.

Peoria (12-18) took the lead in the second inning. Tyler Reichenborn walked with one out in the frame. Leandro Cedeno doubled off the wall in right with two outs to scored Reichenborn from first bast for a 1-0 lead.

Wisconsin (15-15) tied the game with a run in the bottom of the second. Kekai Rios drove in the tying run with a two-out, RBI single.

The Chiefs followed a similar pattern to the first run as they scored their second run in the fourth inning to retake the lead. Reichenborn walked with one out and stole second. Moises Castillo blooped in a single to right and Peoria was up 2-1.

The Rattlers scored the next two runs to take the lead. Rios had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to tie the score. In the fifth, Korry Howell doubled with one out. Je’Von Ward followed with a single to right to score Howell for a 3-2 advantage. The hit also extended Ward’s hitting streak to 15 games.

Reese Olson was the starting pitcher for the Rattlers on Sunday. Olson, who had eight strikeouts in game one of the series last Tuesday against the Chiefs, would strike out eight more Chiefs over five innings on Sunday.

Chad McClanahan gave Wisconsin some breathing room with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.

The Timber Rattlers put the game away with a six-run sixth inning. Gabriel García drove in the first run of the inning with a double. Hayden Cantrelle drew his third walk of the game to load the bases to set up Rios and McClanahan.

Rios drove in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly and McClanahan followed with a two-run double for a 9-2 lead.

David Hamilton put a bow on the inning with a long two-run home run to right-center. The homer, Hamilton’s first as a professional, moved his hitting streak to eleven games and Wisconsin ‘s lead to 11-2.

That was more than enough for Carlos Luna. The right-hander pitched three perfect innings with eight strikeouts.

Evan Reifert pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win to give Wisconsin a split in the six-game series with the Chiefs.

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They will return to action on Tuesday with the first game of a series with the South Bend Cubs at Four Winds Field. Zach Mort (0-1, 4.22), who pitched for the South Bend Cubs in 2019, is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Ryan Jensen (2-2, 3.57) is set to start for the Cubs. Game time is 6:05pm CDT. Catch all of the action on AM 1280 WNAM starting with the pregame show at 5:45pm. The game will be available on internet audio and through MiLB.tv, too.