The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth inning and nursed that one-run advantage all the way to the final out to defeat the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park on Saturday night. Eduarqui Fernández went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored and Terence Doston delivered another key hit for the Rattlers.
The Chiefs (7-13) had two outs with none on base in the bottom of the second when Anyelo Encarnacion drew a walk against Rattlers starting pitcher Alexnder Cornielle. William Sullivan looked like he had grounded in the to the final out of the inning, but a bad hop turned his grounder into a single to extend the inning. Cornielle looked like he got out of the inning again, but a grounder off the bat of Brody Moore eluded two Wisconsin infielders and trickled into left for an RBI single.
Peoria starter Pete Hansen fell into the same pattern in the top of the third inning. Hansen retired the first two batters of the frame. Jadher Areinamo lined a single to right. Gregory Barrios and Luke Adams kept the inning going by drawing walks to load the bases. Fernández doubled to right-center to score all three runners for a 3-1 lead.
Zach Levenson had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third to tighten up the score.
The game became interesting and emotional with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Barrios was at first and was going on Hansen’s first movement. Unfortunately, as Barrios took off for second as Hansen threw to first. William Sullivan, the first baseman, took the throw and fired to second base for what the Chiefs thought would be the final out of the inning. Barrios was ruled safe. Chiefs second baseman Dakota Harris disagreed and was ejected.
Wisconsin (14-6) could not take advantage of the break and the game went to the bottom of the fifth with the Rattlers still up 3-2.
Darlin Moquette started the Chiefs fifth with a double, but he was picked off second base by Cornielle. The Rattlers right-hander got a strikeout for the second out but gave up a single to Levenson to end his night. The call went to Craig Yoho to get the final out of the fifth and protect the lead.
Yoho, who had walked one and struck out fifteen in his first seven outings of the season, walked Leonardo Bernal on a 3-2 pitch to keep the inning alive. Osvaldo Tovalin, the player who replaced Harris after the ejection, lined the first pitch he saw to center to score the tying run and send Bernal to third with the go-ahead run.
Tovalin figured into the go-ahead run to as he broke for second with Anyelo Encarnacion at the plate. Catcher Ram?n Rodríguez lost the ball out of his mitt as he went to throw to second. Bernal broke for home when he saw the ball in the grass, and he ran straight through the plate and into the Peoria dugout on the first base side of the field after avoiding Yoho’s tag to score the go-ahead run.
The Rattlers fought back in the top of the sixth inning to retake the lead, but it was touch-and-go for a bit. Fernández singled for his third hit of the game to start the inning. Jesús Chirinos doubled down the line in with one out to put runners at second and third. Peoria went to their bullpen and replaced Hansen with Joseph King.
Jheremy Vargas fell behind 1-2 before sending a grounder under the glove of King to second. It was enough. The only play was to first base as Fernández scored the tying run. Doston followed with a sharp single to center to send Chirinos home for a 5-4 lead.
Brian Fitzpatrick took over on the hill for the Rattlers and sent down the Chiefs in order in the sixth and seventh innings. Peoria threatened with a pair of infield singles sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt in the eighth. Fitzpatrick escaped with a strikeout and a foul pop.
In the ninth, Fitzpatrick got the first two outs before Won-Bin Cho reached on another infield single. That was all for Fitzpatrick, who struck out four without a walk in 3-2/3 innings.
Will Childers came on to close the game and picked up his first professional save on his second pitch. Cho, who was 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts this season, broke for second on a 1-0 pitch to Levenson. Rodríguez threw a strike to Areinamo covering at second and Cho was out by a wide margin to end the game.
The Timber Rattlers have won four games in a row. Saturday’s win also clinched Wisconsin’s fourth straight series to open the season.
The series finale at Dozer Park is Sunday afternoon. Edwin Jimenez (3-0, 4.50) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Chiefs have named Inohan Paniagua (1-1, 4.05) as their starter. Game time is 2:05pm CDT.
