(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – The first game of the season between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Cedar Rapids Kernels featured big comebacks by both teams, wild swings of emotion, and crazy moments. The Timber Rattlers earned the 14-11 victory Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Field with a huge two-out rally in the top of the seventh, an important two-run homer in the eighth for insurance, and lockdown pitching from the bullpen over the final four innings.
Wisconsin (27-22) jumped out to an early lead. Luis Peña reached with one out on an infield single. Andrew Fischer followed with a home run to left for the 2-0 advantage.
Fischer has hit sixteen homers in 45 games this season. He is tied with Thomas Dillard for the most homers in a single season by a Rattler since the franchise moved up to the High-A classification for the 2021 season. Dillard hit his sixteen homers in 78 games during the inaugural season at High-A in 2021.
Josiah Ragsdale doubled the Wisconsin lead with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the second.
The bottom of second was trouble for the Timber Rattlers. Peña became ill at his shortstop position with a runner at second and no outs and left the game.
The Kernels (26-26) would score a run on a double steal with Yasser Mercedes stealing home after a throw to second on a steal attempt by Quinn McDaniel. Rattlers starting pitcher J.D. Thompson walked Jay Thomason with one out, got a strikeout for the second out, and went to 3-2 to Marek Houston before leaving the game with an injury.
Garrett Hodges entered the game from the Wisconsin bullpen and threw ball four to Houston before striking out Eduardo Tait for the final out to leave the bases loaded.
Daniel Dickinson made it 6-1 in favor of the Timber Rattlers with another two-out, two-run double in the top of the third.
Cedar Rapids narrowed the gap with an RBI single by Khadim Diaw in the third.
The fourth was a tightrope walk for Hodges as the first five Kernels reached on two walks and a single, an error by Dickinson, and a single by Brandon Winokur scoring two runs. Hodges left the bases loaded with a popout to shallow right and back-to-back strikeouts.
The Rattlers added three runs in the top of the fifth for what appeared to be a very comfortable lead of 9-4. A throwing error on a potential inning-ending double play let Marco Dinges score from second. Luis Castillo followed with a towering home run to right, his sixth home run of the season.
Travis Smith took over in the bottom of the fifth and worked a scoreless inning. The sixth was very different. The first seven Kernels reached base against him and all seven scored to grab an 11-9 advantage.
The inning started with consecutive walks. Diaw doubled in one run. An error by Luiyin Alastre, Peña’s replacement at short, allowed the second run to score. McDaniel singled to load the bases. Another error on Alastre let in one more run. Then, Thomason pounced on a first pitch from Smith and launched a grand slam to put the Kernels in front for the first time in the game.
Wisconsin responded in their next turn at bat. Castillo was at first with two outs when Ragsdale, who was on base five times in the game, drew a walk to bring Alastre to the plate. Alastre got immediate redemption with a double to left to score Castillo. Fischer was next and he hit a line drive single to right to score both Ragsdale and Alastre for an 12-11 lead.
Tensions boiled over in the top of the eighth. Josh Adamczewski was at the plate with Dinges at first base and was ruled to have gone around on a check swing by base umpire Dylan Reeves for strike three for the first out of the inning. Adamczewski stood at the plate in disbelief for a moment and walked lowly back to the Wisconsin dugout. Plate umpire Dakota Kilgore ejected Adamczewski and also manager Nick Stanley, who charged down from third to protect Adamczewski.
The dust settled eventually before Bitonti stirred up the Wisconsin dugout three pitches later by hitting a long two-run homer to left-center on an 0-2 pitch for a 14-11 lead.
Yerlin Rodriguez, who had taken over for Smith in the sixth and pitched two scoreless innings yielded the mound to Ayendy Bravo for the eighth. Bravo pitched a perfect inning, the first of the night by a pitcher on either team. He went back out in the ninth and – despite two walks – nailed down his first Midwest League save.
Fischer (2-for-5) and Ragsdale (3-for-4) each collected their team-leading thirteenth multi-hit game of the season. Bitonti stayed hot as he was 2-for-3 for his fourth multi-hit game during a five-game hitting streak during which he is 10-for-19 with eight runs scored.
Tuesday also marked the second game in a row for Fischer and Castillo to hit home runs for the Rattlers.
Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Braylon Owens (1-0, 4.24) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Cedar Rapids has named Dasan Hill (1-4, 6.26) as their starter. Game time is 12:05pm.
Comments