The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are in the win column. Less than 24 hours after collecting one hit in their season-opening, 2-1 loss to the Peoria Chiefs, the Rattlers collected eleven hits in a 6-3 win on Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on the way to their victory.
Wisconsin (1-1) grabbed the lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning. Ram?n Rodríguez drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Jesús Chirinos followed with a double to right-center to score Rodríguez. Terence Doston was next, and he beat out in infield single to put runners at the corners. Dylan O’Rae delivered another two-out hit with a single to right to score Chirinos for a 2-0 lead.
Peoria (1-1) tied the game in the top of the fourth inning. Michael Curialle doubled in two runs with one out in the frame to even the score. That would be it for the Chiefs against Wisconsin starting pitcher Alexander Cornielle. The right-hander retired the next two batters of the inning to keep the game tied.
The Timber Rattlers broke that tie in their half of the fifth inning as the first five batters of the inning reached base and four scored. Luis Lara started the rally with a single, his first hit of the season. Mike Boeve, who had three hits on Saturday, also singled. Then, Luke Adams was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Gregory Barrios swung at the very next pitch and his sinking line drive to left dropped in for a two-run double to give Wisconsin a 4-2 lead. Jadher Areinamo was the next hitter, and he was also aggressive as he lined a two-run single to right to push Wisconsin’s lead to 6-3.
Jake Polancic, Wisconsin’s first reliever, walked the first two batters he faced in the top of the sixth inning, but got a double play and a strikeout to work a scoreless frame to maintain the lead for the Timber Rattlers.
The Chiefs picked up a run in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI double by Won-Bin Cho off reliever Will Childers. Cho, who had three hits on Saturday, was the last batter to reach against Childers. The Wisconsin reliever retired the final five batters he faced before turning the game over to Yerlin Rodriguez for the top of the ninth.
Rodriguez had eleven saves for the Carolina Mudcats last season and was a little shaky against the bottom of the Peoria order as a hit batsman and a walk brought Cho to the plate as the tying run. Rodriguez regrouped to strike out Cho for the second out. Then, Rodriguez caught Brody Moore looking at strike three to close out the game for a Wisconsin victory.
Cornielle allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings to earn the victory in his first start of the season. Cornielle was a Timber Rattler in 2023 and didn’t pick up his first win of the season until his final start of the season.
The final game of the series is Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Edwin Jimenez is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Peoria has named Pete Hansen as their starter. Game time is 1:10pm.
