(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers hopes of continuing their momentum at home after winning five of six games at Fort Wayne last week were dashed by the Quad Cities River Bandits Tuesday night at Neuroscience Group Field. Quad Cities scored fourteen runs on thirteen hits while drawing eleven walks on the way to a 14-7 win over the Rattlers. The Bandits were scoreless in just the first and sixth innings of the game.
Quad Cities (11-8) built an early lead with two runs in the second and one run in the third. Jose Cirece put the River Bandits up with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. Tyriq Kemp knocked in a run with a groundout in the second. Luke Pelzer made it 3-0 with another RBI grounder in the third.
The Timber Rattlers (13-7) responded in their half of the third. Luis Castillo doubled to start the frame. Juan Baez followed with an RBI double to get Wisconsin on the scoreboard. Luiyin Alastre drew a walk and the Rattlers looked to be in line for more runs. However, Quad Cities starting pitcher Emmanuel Reyes retired the next three batters without adding a run.
The Bandits went back on the offense in the top of the fourth. Nolan Sailors tripled with one out. Asbel Gonzalez singled through the drawn-in infield to score Sailors and knock Ethan Dorchies, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, out of the game.
Reliever Jose Nova was helped out when Gonzalez was thrown out at second on a stolen base attempt for the second out of the inning. The River Bandits weren’t done though. A walk, a single, and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Pelzer blooped a single to right to score both runners for a 6-1 lead.
Nova struck out the first two batters he faced in the fifth inning before he walked the next two hitters – Tyriq Kemp and Sailors – and went full on Gonzalez. The runners were going on the pitch, and Gonzalez hit a grounder to third. The throw to first was high and Gonzalez was ruled safe. Kemp kept running and beat the throw home. Sailors rounded third base too far and drew a throw that wound up in left field to allow him to score. Then, Blake Mitchell hit a two-run home run for a 10-1 lead.
Reyes left the game after five innings. He allowed a run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Wisconsin got back on the scoreboard in the sixth against Jacob Widener, who walked the bases loaded, hit Daniel Dickinson to force in a run, and walked Castillo to force in another run. LP Langevin took over on the mound and struck out the next two batters to finish the inning.
The River Bandits offense wasn’t finished. Gonzalez hit a solo home run in the seventh. Derlin Figueroa singled in a run in the eighth and scored on a wild pitch for a 13-3 lead.
Five straight Timber Rattlers reached base in the bottom of the eighth inning with an RBI single from Castillo and a two-run double by Alastre chasing reliever Ryan Ure from the game. Braylon Payne grounded out against Dash Albus, the fifth Quad Cities pitcher of the night, to drive in one more Rattler run. Albus retired the next two batters to send the game to the ninth.
Pelzer drove in the final run of the game, his fourth RBI of the night, with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.
Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Wande Torres (1-0, 5.14) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Mason Miller (0-0, 8.38) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 12:10pm.
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