GRAND CHUTE, WI – Alexander Cornielle pitched six scoreless innings and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers mustered just enough offense for a 2-1 victory over the South Bend Cubs Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. The win was the fourth straight for the Timber Rattlers to give them a 4-2 series victory over the Cubs.
Luis Lara started the Wisconsin half of the first inning with a double. He moved to third on a passed ball. Jadher Areinamo drove in Lara with a grounder to short for the 1-0 lead.
Cornielle retired the first nine batters he faced before Brett Bateman reached on an error to start the top of the fourth. Bateman was running on an 0-2 pitch when Ed Howard hit a line drive right at Luke Adams at third base. Bateman was doubled off first base easily for the second out. The Cubs put the next three batters on base with two singles and a walk before Cornielle preserved the lead with a three-pitch strikeout.
Areinamo moved his hitting streak to fourteen games with a single to start the Rattlers fourth inning. Luke Adams followed with a single and Matt Wood walked to load the bases. Tayden Hall drove Areinamo home with a grounder and the Rattlers (47-28 overall, 5-4 second half) were up 2-0.
South Bend (31-44, 4-5) only had one more baserunner against Cornielle. Bateman bunted for a hit to start the sixth inning. He was running again, this time with one out, on a pitch to Jefferson Rojas. Shortstop Gregory Barrios made a leaping grab of the line drive for the second out. Then, Barrios jogged over to tag Bateman for the final out of the inning.
Cornielle allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out five over his six shutout innings to put himself in line for his fourth win of the season.The Cubs got on the scoreboard against Stiven Cruz in the seventh inning. Jonathan Long singled and moved to second on a grounder. Ethan Hearn drove in Long with a two-out single to cut Wisconsin’s lead to one run.
Aaron Rund was called into the game for the top of the eighth inning and he worked around a one-out single and a two-out walk by striking out Long for the final out.
In the ninth, Parker Chavers flyball to shallow left was dropped by Barrios to allow Chavers to take second to start the inning. Rund got a strikeout and a ground out to the right side. Chavers was on third as the tying run with two outs and Rund ended the game with his third strikeout of the game for his second save of the season.
Areinamo is 21-53 during his fourteen-game hitting streak, the longest by a Timber Rattlers this season. It is the longest hitting streak by a Wisconsin player since LG Castillo had a fifteen-game hitting streak in the 2021 season from June 16 to July 10.
Wisconsin is back in action on Monday night with a game at ABC Supply Stadium against the Beloit Sky Carp. Mark Manfredi (4-2, 4.04) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jacob Miller (3-3, 2.72) is set to start for Beloit. Game time is 6:35pm.
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