GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied from deficits of 3-2,4-3, and 6-4 to defeat the Quad Cities River Bandits 7-6 on Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field in front of a playoff record crowd for the franchise to clinch the West Division title with a sweep in the best-of-three series. Luke Adams capped the thrilling three-run rally with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run and set off a wild celebration.
Adams electrified the record crowd of 4,428 with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to put the Rattlers up 2-0. Adams lined the payoff pitch from Ethan Bosacker past the light tower beyond left field wall with an exit velocity of 107 mph.
Wisconsin starting pitcher Will Rudy kept the River Bandits off the scoreboard through 4-2/3 innings. He had just struck out Omar Hernandez with Sam Kulasingam at first in the top of the fifth for his eighth strikeout. Then, he issued a four-pitch walk to Justin Johnson to extend the inning and Quad Cities took advantage.
Spencer Nivens singled to right on 2-2 pitch to right field to score Kulasingam. The ball got away from catcher Matt Wood on the tag attempt. Johnson was at third and Nivens wound up at second. Jac Caglianone followed with a two-run single to push both runners home to give the River Bandits a 3-2 lead.
Quad Cities had a chance to add to their lead in the top of the seventh with runners at the corners and two outs. Aaron Rund entered from the Wisconsin bullpen to face Nivens, who grounded a ball up the middle. Second baseman Jadher Areinamo made a great stop and flipped to second for an out. Cooper Pratt fired low to first on the turn and Tayden Hall held the base for a spectacular inning-ending double play to send the game to the seventh inning stretch.
The defensive play gave the Rattlers bats a lift and started an amazing run of back-and-forth between the teams.
Jheremy Vargas blooped a double to right to score Eduardo Garcia with the tying run in the bottom of the seventh.
Rund retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the eighth but issued a walk to Carson Roccaforte. Shervyen Newton followed with a double to left that scored Roccaforte.
In the bottom of the eighth, Cooper Pratt walked to start the frame but was only at second base with two outs. Ramόn Rodríguez, who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and grounded into a double play, laced a double off the wall in left to score Pratt and tie the game 4-4.
The Bandits went back in front in the top of the tenth against Bayden Root. A single, a wild pitch, an error, and defensive indifference had Quad Cities with runners at second and third with no outs. Nivens lifted a ball to center that was deep enough to score the runner from third. The runner at second also tagged and the throw went to third. However, the throw was wild, and that runner also scored for a 6-4 lead. Root hit the next batter before getting the final two outs.
The Timber Rattlers immediately put the pressure on Quad Cities. Hall drew a lead-off walk. Vargas singled. Pinch-hitter Hedbert Pérez also singled to load the bases with no outs.
Luis Lara grounded into a force play at second to score Hall. He would steal second to put the winning run at second.
Pratt lined a single to Kulasingam in right field. That hit scored Vargas with the tying run. However, Kulasingam made a perfect throw to the plate to nail Lara for the second out and keep the Bandits season alive. Pratt took second on the throw home to set the stage for Adams.
One pitch later, the Rattlers were celebrating. Adams dropped a single into right and Kulasingam had no chance to catch Pratt. Adams rounded first and raced to center field to celebrate with the Wisconsin relievers who were spilling out of the bullpen to revel in the victory.
Pratt was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, three runs scored, and an RBI. Adams was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Wisconsin was 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
The previous playoff attendance record for the Timber Rattlers was set on September 8, 2005 when 2,887 fans turned out to see the Timber Rattlers play the Beloit Snappers in Game Two of a Midwest League first round series.
The Timber Rattlers will face the Lake County Captains, an affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, in the best-of-three Midwest League Championship Series. Game One is set for Sunday, September 15 at Neuroscience Group Field. Game time is 6:40pm CDT. Game Two will be at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio on Tuesday, September 17 at 5:35pm CDT. If Game Three is necessary, The Captains will host Wisconsin on Wednesday, September 18 at 5:35pm CDT.
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