(WNFL) BOWLING GREEN, KY – Jake Cronenworth hit a three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Bowling Green Hot Rods to a 3-2 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wednesday night at Bowling Green Ballpark.
Both teams had good scoring opportunities in the first five innings, but neither starting pitcher buckled. Bowling Green starter Michael Velasquez allowed four hits and struck out six over five scoreless innings. The toughest spot he escaped from was a runner at third with no outs in the fourth. Wisconsin starter Drake Owenby allowed six hits and walked three over his five scoreless innings. He didn’t record a perfect inning, but did get out of a first and third one out situation in the second.Wisconsin (44-46 overall, 10-10 second half) scored first and the runs came against the Bowling Green Bullpen. Sthervin Matos hit a leadoff home run in the top of the sixth inning to welcome Bryan Bonnell to the game. Later in the inning, Jake Gatewood drove in Troy Stokes, Jr. with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.Chase Williams took over for Owenby to start the bottom of the sixth and struck out the side in order.Thomas Jankins relieved Williams to start the bottom of the seventh and pitched around a leadoff walk to maintain the lead.The Hot Rods (47-41, 10-9) threatened in the eighth as they had a pair of singles against Jankins, but he got out of the inning with a shallow fly out to right and a line out to second.The ninth inning was a different story. Jankins got the first out, but back-to-back singles by the eight and nine hitters in the Bowling Green lineup brought Cronenworth to the plate. Wisconsin went to Scott Grist to relieve Jankins to try to close the game.Cronenworth hit a high fly to fight on the first pitch from Grist. Matos tracked it all the way to the fence and leapt, but the ball cleared his glove and the fence and landed in the Wisconsin bullpen for a walkoff, three-run homer.The Timber Rattlers have lost six games in July. All six losses have been by a single run.
