Luke Adams hit his first home run of the season and Jadher Areinamo went 4-for-5 with three stolen bases to lead the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a 9-6 win over the South Bend Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Four Winds Field. Wisconsin collected a season-high fifteen hits in the game.
Both teams scored four runs in the first inning.
Dylan O’Rae and Luis Lara opened the game by reaching base for Wisconsin (6-3). Adams lined a three-run homer to left and the Rattlers were up 3-0 three batters into the game. Later in the first, Ram?n Rodríguez doubled to drive in a run for a 4-0 lead.
South Bend (3-6) came back to tie the game in their half of the inning with some help from the Wisconsin defense. The Cubs had a runner at second after a lead-off double by Brett Bateman. Areinamo made a diving stop of a grounder up the middle off the bat of Brennen Davis. However, Areinamo threw wildly to first base to allow Bateman to score. A bloop single by Pedro Ramirez scored Davis with the second run of the inning.
Later in the inning, Brian Kalmer stepped in with runners at first and second with one out. Rattlers pitcher Edwin Jimenez got Kalmer to send a grounder to Areinamo’s right. The Wisconsin shortstop got over, but had the ball go through his legs. The play was ruled a single and by the time the ball was back to the infield another run had scored and the Cubs had runners at the corners. Parker Chavers tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
The Rattlers had chances to take the lead, but had a runner thrown out at the plate to end both the second and third innings.
In the top of the fourth, designated hitter Mike Boeve, the hottest hitter in the Wisconsin lineup, came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Boeve, lined out to center deep enough to score the runner from third with the go-ahead run.
Areinamo made up for the fielding miscues in the first inning by following Boeve with an RBI single for a 6-4 lead.
O’Rae and Lara added to the Wisconsin lead in the fifth inning with consecutive RBI hits. O’Rae singled and Lara doubled. Adams got his fourth RBI in the game on an RBI fielder’s choice to score O’Rae for the 9-4 lead.
Jimenez settled in after the first inning and kept the Cubs off the scoreboard until a sacrifice fly from Kalmer in the fifth inning. Jimenez allowed five runs on nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts before turning the game over to the bullpen to protect the 9-5 lead.
Tyler Wehrle and Aaron Run each pitched a scoreless frame.
In the eighth, Chase Costello allowed lead-off single to Rafael Morel. Then, Ethan Hearn chopped a ball to the left of the mound. Costello rushed to the ball and fielded it but fired wildly to first. Morel scored and Hearn wound up at third. Costello retired the next three batters to strand Hearn at third and the game went to the ninth with Wisconsin’s lead at 9-6.
Craig Yoho got the call for the bottom of the ninth and he retired the side in order with two strikeouts and a flyout to right for his second save of the season.
Boeve was 2-for-3 with a walk, a sacrifice fly, a run scored, and an RBI on Sunday. He was 8-for-16 with eight walks in the six games against the Cubs. Boeve has reached base in all nine games played by the Timber Rattlers this season.
Wisconsin base runners stole six bases in the contest as they won the series finale and earned a series win by taking four of six from South Bend.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday evening at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium with game one of a six-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Patricio Aquino (0-0, 0.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Game time is 6:40pm.
