GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 4-2 lead over the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Then, the Cubs scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally to a 5-4 victory.
Wisconsin (43-28 overall, 1-4 second half) scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Luke Adams drew a walk to start the frame. Matt Wood lined a double to right-center to score Adams for the 1-0 lead.
Tate Kuehner, the Timber Rattlers starting pitcher, was very good over five innings. The lefty allowed a walk and a single with two outs in the first inning. Then, Kuehner retired the next thirteen batters in a row. He left after five shutout innings with five strikeouts.
South Bend (31-40, 4-1) tied the game in the top of the sixth as reliever Patricio Aquino gave up consecutive singles to start the inning. Rafael Morel had the lead-off single with Brett Bateman following with a single to right that pushed Morel to third. Pedro Ramirez drove in Morel by grounding into a force play.
Morel and Bateman set up the go-ahead run for the Cubs in the eighth against Aquino. Morel tripled to start the frame. Bateman singled through the drawn-in infield and South Bend had a 2-1 lead.
Wisconsin rallied to retake the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Jadher Areinamo and Luke drew walks to start the rally. Wood moved both runners into scoring position with a ground out. Eduardo Garcia’s blooper to center glanced off the glove of Bateman, who was making a sliding attempt at the catch. Both Areinamo and Adams scored for a 3-2 lead. Tayden Hall added an insurance run with a single to score Garcia for a 4-2 lead.
In the top of the ninth, Will Childers was called to the mound for the Rattlers and gave up a double to Jonathan Long and a single off the glove of Garcia at short. Ed Howard was next, and his routine fly to right kept carrying until it was out of the reach of Jheremy Vargas for an RBI double that pulled the Cubs within a run and put the tying and lead runs in scoring position.
Jordan Nwogu drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Childers got the second out with a strikeout to bring Morel back to the plate one more time. Morel singled to drive in Howard to put the Cubs in front by a run.
Areinamo, who had extended his hitting streak to a season-high ten games with a double earlier in the game, singled to start Wisconsin’s half of the ninth inning against Yovanny Cabrera. The Rattlers could do nothing with the opportunity and did not score in the ninth as they dropped their third straight game.
This is only the second time Wisconsin has lost three games in a row this season. Wednesday was also just the second time the Rattlers have lost a game when trailing heading into the ninth inning. Wisconsin is now 35-2 when leading after eight innings this season.
Adams walked twice and was hit by a pitch in the game. He has been hit by a pitch twenty times this season. Darrien Miller (24 in 2022) and Brandon Macias (21 in 2012) are the only other Rattlers to be hit by a pitch 20 or more times in a season.
Areinamo was 2-for-4 on Wednesday. He is 16-for-40 during his current hitting streak. Wednesday also marked the 22nd multi-hit game of the season for Areinamo.
Game three of the series is Thursday night. Wisconsin has K.C. Hunt (2-1, 3.38) set to go as their starting pitcher. South Bend has Nick Dean (4-0, 1.93) as their starter. Game time is 6:40pm.
Thursday is the first game of Udder Tuggers Weekend, a four-game celebration of America’s Dairyland and one of the best alternate identities in sports.
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