Three Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers combined for fourteen strikeouts and held the Quad Cities River Bandits to three hits on Tuesday Night at Modern Woodmen Park. Jadher Areinamo drove in two runs early to give Wisconsin the lead and the Rattlers offense added two insurance runs in the fifth inning for a 4-1 victory.
Carson Roccaforte gave the River Bandits (17-11) a 1-0 lead with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Rattlers (18-10) responded in the top of the second. Luke Adams walked to start the inning and moved to second on a ground out. Areinamo cracked an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a single to score Adams with the tying run.
Wisconsin took the lead without a hit in the top of the fourth. Dylan O’Rae and Adams were both hit by pitches to start the inning. Areinamo stepped to the plate with runners at second and third and one out and knocked in O’Rae from third with a grounder to short for a 2-1 lead.
Adams has been hit by a pitch in six consecutive games.
The Rattlers added to their advantage in the fifth inning. Jheremy Vargas drew a walk with one out. Luis Lara doubled to the gap in right-center to score Vargas. The throw home missed the cutoff man and Lara took third on the play. The River Bandits brought their infield to the edge of the grass and Gregory Barrios took advantage by shooting a grounder through the left side of the infield to get Lara home for a 4-1 lead.
Tate Kuehner, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, settled down after the lead-off homer in the first. That was the only hit he allowed over four innings. Kuehner walked three and struck out six as he turned the ball and the lead over to the Wisconsin bullpen.
Tyler Wehrle was the first reliever for the Timber Rattlers, and he worked two scoreless innings with a walk, a hit, and a strikeout. Wehrle ended his night by getting Brett Squires to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the sixth inning.
Craig Yoho was the next bullpen arm for Wisconsin. He was also the final bullpen arm the Rattlers would need in the game. Yoho pitched three scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn his fourth save of the season. He retired the first eight batters he faced before giving up a two-out hit in the ninth. Yoho regrouped and struck out Kale Emshoff looking to end the game.
Three innings and seven strikeouts are new single-game highs as a pro for Yoho.
Wisconsin’s defense played flawless defense again. The Rattlers have played error-free defense in five straight games. They have been charged with two errors in their last eleven games.
It's still very early in the first half, but Tuesday’s victory put the Timber Rattlers in first place in the West Division of the Midwest League by one game over the River Bandits
Game two of the series is scheduled for Wednesday evening at Modern Woodmen Park. Patricio Aquino (1-2, 7.56) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The River Bandits have named Ben Kudrna (2-2, 2.45) as their starter. Game time is 6:30pm.
