Wisconsin Wills Its Way to a Win

DAVENPORT, IA – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 7-4 behind a patient approach at the plate, a gutty pitching performance from Will Rudy, and a nervy bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

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Eduardo Garcia gave Wisconsin (66-39 overall, 24-15 second half) the lead in the top of the second inning with a two-out single to score Felix Valerio from second base. Valerio had reached on a walk and stole second with one out. That single by Garcia was Wisconsin’s only hit with runners in scoring position in the game.

Quad Cities (50-55, 20-20) responded with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Justin Johnson doubled to start the inning. Shervyen Newton singled on a 1-2 pitch to drive in Johnson with the tying run. The Bandits loaded the bases on a single and a hit batsman. Rudy, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, only allowed one other run in the inning. Dustin Dickerson had a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead.

The Timber Rattlers offense bounced back to load the bases with no outs against River Bandits starter Frank Mozzicato on singles by Jesús Chirinos and Cooper Pratt and a walk to Luke Adams. Mozzicato struck out the next two batters before he walked Valerio and Vargas to force in two runs. A wild pitch let the third run of the inning score and Wisconsin was up 4-2.

Chirinos and Pratt started another rally in the fourth inning. Chirinos walked and Pratt doubled off the wall in center. A wild pitch allowed Chirinos to score and moved Pratt to third. Jadher Areinamo got Pratt home with a sacrifice fly to put the Rattlers up 6-2.

The Bandits battled back two batters into the bottom of the fourth. Johnson singled and Newton hit a home run. Rudy walked two in the inning and the Bandits had runners at second and third with two outs to bring Jac Caglianone, the #1 pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 2024 draft to the plate. Rudy struck out Caglianone on a 3-2 pitch to maintain the lead.

Rudy got into trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning after a double by Trevor Werner and an infield single by Carson Roccaforte put runners on the corners with no outs. Roccaforte broke for second and drew a throw. He was safe as the throw handcuffed Garcia in front of the base. Werner broke for the plate late and was out on a one-hop throw from Garcia and a tag by catcher Ramόn Rodríguez. Rudy struck out Johnson and Newton to end the inning.

Rudy matched his professional single-game high for strikeouts with seven. He pitched around seven hits, three walks, and a hit batsman to turn that 6-4 lead over to the bullpen.

Reliever Jeferson Figueroa hit Deivis Nadal with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and made an errant pickoff throw to allow Nadal to take third base. The Wisconsin infield was playing at normal depth when Dickerson hit a sharp grounder to Pratt at short. Nadal got a bad break off third base and Pratt caught him by surprise by throwing home. Nadal would be tagged out in the rundown for the second out. Figueroa got the final out of the inning and would work three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

The Rattlers added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning as they loaded the bases on singles by Areinamo and Luis Lara with a hit batsman to Valerio. Vargas drove in Areinamo with a sacrifice fly for a 7-4 lead.

In the top of the ninth, Wisconsin missed on a chance for more insurance as Connor Fenlong, the fourth Bandits pitcher of the night, gave up a double to Areinamo and walked two, their seventh and eighth walks of the game. However, Fenlong got out of the inning with a strikeout and a pop to keep Quad Cities within three runs.

In the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Bryant walked Nadal to start the inning. He struck out Dickerson for the first out. Spencer Nivens was next, and he hit a drive to deep right near the wall. Vargas made a long run and a leaping catch for the second out to bring the Rattlers to within an out of ending their three-game losing streak. It would take a bit longer to get that final out.

Bryant walked Caglianone and Werner to load the bases. Roccaforte stepped to the plate as the potential winning run. He brought the crowd to its feet with a drive to right, but he pulled it foul for a loud strike. Bryant got Roccaforte to hit a grounder to first for the final out to secure his second save of the season.

Pratt went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to lead the Timber Rattlers offense. Friday night was Pratt’s second three-hit game of the series with Quad Cities.

The Timber Rattlers stranded ten runners and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The trio of Wisconsin pitchers held the River Bandits to 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

The teams will resume their series on Saturday night at Modern Woodmen Park. Alexander Cornielle (6-4, 4.30) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Hunter Owen (6-6, 4.24) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 6:00pm CDT. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show set to go at 5:40pm. The game is also available on the internet and the Bally Live App.