(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) BELOIT, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Beloit Sky Carp 8-5 at ABC Supply Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the season finale for both teams.
Wisconsin (68-59 overall, 34-31 second half) scored three runs on one hit in the top of the first. Brady Ebel started the game with a walk and went to third on a single by Daniel Dickinson. Ebel scored on a ball that got away from Beloit catcher Nestor Rios on a steal of second by Dickinson for a 1-0 lead.
Sawyer Strosnider drew another walk. Then, with Eric Bitonti at the plate, the two Rattlers on base executed a double steal. A wild pitch with Bitonti still up let Dickinson score and Strosnider take third. A sacrifice fly by Juan Ortuño got Strosnider home for the third run of the inning.
Beloit (66-65, 39-27) scored a run in the bottom of the first. Dillon Head singled, stole second, went to third on a grounder, and scored on an RBI grounder by Chase Jaworsky.
The Sky Carp tied the game in the bottom of the third. Wisconsin starter Ethan Dorchies loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a hit batsman. He got the second out on a strikeout, but Carter Johnson singled to center to knock in two runs to even the score.
A defensive miscue on a potential inning-ending double play in the top of the third allowed the Rattlers to score a run for a 4-3 lead. However, they would leave the bases loaded as they could not take full advantage of four walks in the inning.
Dickinson padded the Wisconsin lead with a two-out, solo home run in the top of the fourth. That was Dickinson’s eleventh home run of the season.
Josh Quezada, Wisconsin’s second pitcher of the afternoon, found himself in trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning after he walked Brian Sanchez and Esmil Valencia to start the bottom of the sixth. The runners were moving on a 2-2 pitch to Abrahan Ramirez, who lined a pitch deep to right field. Luiyin Alastre, who was switched from left field to right field defensively just before the game, raced back to the track and made the catch just shy of the wall. Then, he turned and fired to first in time to double up Valencia at first base.
The Wisconsin offense seemed inspired as two hitters reached rare milestones in team history to help add three runs to the lead.
Dickinson singled to start the seventh and stole second. It was Dickinson’s third of the game and sixtieth of the season. Dickinson is only the second Timber Rattler to reach sixty stolen bases in a season. Pedro Liriano had 65 steals in 2001.
Strosnider drove in Dickinson with a single for a 6-3 lead. The bases were loaded moments later after Bitonti singled and Ortuño was hit by a pitch. Another run scoring wild pitch allowed Strosnider to score.
Luis Castillo knocked in Bitonti with a sacrifice fly to give the Rattlers a five-run cushion. That RBI for Castillo made just the fifth Timber Rattler to reach ninety RBI in a season, and the first since Jon Nelson had 91 runs batted in during the 2003 season.
Beloit made it a little interesting in the eighth inning against Tanner Perry. The right-handed reliever gave up an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to see the lead shrink to one run. Perry walked the eight and nine hitters in the order before Head popped out to short to end the threat.
Michael Fowler nailed down his sixth save with a scoreless ninth inning for the Rattlers.
Wisconsin earned a split in the six-game series at ABC Supply Stadium and a victory in the season series from their in-state rivals. The Rattlers went 11-9 against the Sky Carp in 2026.
The Timber Rattlers Opening Day for 2027 is scheduled for Friday, April 2 at Dozer Park against the Peoria Chiefs. Wisconsin’s home opener next season will be against the Beloit Sky Carp on Tuesday, April 6 with a 6:40pm first pitch at Neuroscience Group Field.
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