BELOIT, WI – K.C. Hunt became the first Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher to reach double digits in strikeouts in a game this season as he struck out ten over 5-1/3 shutout innings to earn the win in Wisconsin’s 2-0 victory over the Beloit Sky Carp on Wednesday night at ABC Supply Stadium.
Jadher Areinamo gave the Timber Rattlers (49-29 overall, 7-5 second half) the lead and extended his hitting streak to sixteen games with one swing of the bat in the third inning. Areinamo launched a 2-0 pitch from Noble Meyer to the Beloit bullpen in left field for a solo homer. Areinamo went 2-for-4 on Wednesday night and is 26-for-61 (.426) during the second-longest hitting streak by a Timber Rattler since the team moved up to the High-A classification for the 2021 season.
Wisconsin added to their lead in the fifth inning. Felix Valerio singled, stole second, and stole third. Meyer walked Jheremy Vargas with one out and that was all for the Beloit starter. Reliever Kyle Crigger entered the game for the Sky Carp to face Eduardo Garcia, who grounded into a force play at second to score Valerio for a 2-0 lead.
The Sky Carp (35-40, 5-7) got their only hit off Hunt in the fifth inning when Tony Bullard singled to start the frame. Hunt got the next batter to ground into a double play. Then, he struck out the final batter of the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hunt went back out for one more batter and he struck out Chase Luttrell to become the first Wisconsin pitcher to record ten strikeouts in a game since Edwin Jimenez had ten punchouts against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on July 30, 2023. Hunt walked two, allowed one hit, and put himself in line for his third win as a Rattler as he turned the game over to the Wisconsin bullpen.
Stiven Cruz took over for Hunt and got the final two outs of the sixth. In the seventh, Cruz struck out the first two batters before a walk, a single by Bullard, and another walk loaded the bases with two outs. Cruz would escape the jam with a weak grounder back to him to strand all three runners as he threw to first for the final out.
Aaron Rund, Wisconsin’s second reliever of the game, ramped up the drama a little in the bottom of the eighth after allowing a lead-off single and a one-out walk. He got a flyout to left for the second out. Then, Rund struck out Josh Zamora, who had been named the Midwest League Player of the Month for June earlier today, to end the threat.
There was no drama in the bottom of the ninth. Rund pitched a perfect inning for his third save. He struck out Jake DeLeo to end the game to give Wisconsin pitchers fourteen strikeouts in the game and the Timber Rattlers a 2-1 series victory against their in-state rivals.
The teams move to Neuroscience Group Field on Thursday to start a three-game series. Game one features Brian Fitzpatrick (2-1, 3.60) as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Karson Milbrandt (1-3, 3.43) is set to start for the Sky Carp. Game time is 6:40pm CDT.
Thursday night is a night for any active or retired military personnel to receive two free reserved bleacher tickets for this game in advance through Vet Tix by going to this link and providing their military ID or by visiting the Timber Rattlers Box Office and providing a military ID.
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