Wisconsin is Back at .500 After 2-1 Win at Lansing

LANSING, MI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Lansing Lugnuts 2-1 in the regularly-scheduled game at Cooley Law School Stadium on Wednesday night. This win, coupled with their 8-3 win in the conclusion of the suspended game from Tuesday night, pushed the Rattlers back to the .500 mark for the season.

Lansing (11-14) had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the third. Dom Abbadessa started the frame with a double, but he tried to advance on a grounder into the hole on the left side of the infield. Timber Rattlers shortstop Yeison Coca ranged over and made a nice backhand pick followed by an on-target throw on the run to third. All third baseman Gabriel García had to do was wait for Abbadessa to slide into the tag for the out.
Wisconsin (12-12) broke the scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. LG Castillo smacked a single to center to start the inning and moved to second on a grounder. Korry Howell, who had just joined the Ratters on Tuesday, drove Castillo home with a single for his first Midwest League hit. Later in the inning, Wisconsin added a run on a safety squeeze by Connor McVey that scored Howell from third base.

Scotty Sunitsch was the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. He had pitched six scoreless innings and kept his pitch count low as he didn't face any major jams after the third innings. Sunitsch went back out for the bottom of the seventh to try to complete the game and the shutout.

Nick Podkul, who had three hits in the game, made that task a bit tougher as he started the final Lansing frame with a double. Sunitsch struck out the next batter, but that ended his day. The left-hander set a new single-game high for innings pitched as a professional with 6-1/3.

Robbie Hitt entered the game in relief of Sunitsch and gave up a single to the first batter he faced. A wild pitch by Hitt allowed Podkul to score and the tying run to reach scoring position with one out. Hitt rebounded to retire the next two batters without incident and close out the game for his second save of the season.

The win was the third straight for the Rattlers and their fifth win in their last six games.
The Timber Rattlers and Lugnuts will conclude their series on Thursday night at Cooley Law School Stadium. Adam Hill (2-1, 3.12) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Lansing has named Joey Murray (2-1, 4.01) as their starter. Game time is 6:05pm CDT. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM and the TuneIn Radio app starting with the Papa John's Pizza Pregame Show at 5:45pm. MiLB.tv subscribers can watch the game over the internet.

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