(WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS) PEORIA, IL – Andrew Fischer and Eric Bitonti had amazing offensive days for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park. Both just missed on a cycle but powered the Rattlers to their third consecutive win, a 15-8 victory to close out a series victory over the Chiefs.
Fischer tripled, hit two homers, scored four runs, and drove in five as he went 4-for-6. Bitonti was 5-for-5 with a walk, a homer, two doubles, two RBI, and scored three runs.
Wisconsin (19-12) ambushed Peoria starting pitcher Leonel Sequera with five runs on five hits in the first inning. Marco Dinges singled with one out. Fischer tripled off the top of the wall in right to drive in Dinges. Bitonti ripped a single to center to score Fischer. Later in the inning, Blayberg Diaz stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Diaz drove a double to the wall in right to knock in all three runners for a 5-0 lead.
Won-Bin Cho got the Chiefs (14-18) on the scoreboard with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second.
Bitonti blasted a solo homer, his fifth of the season, in the third inning for Wisconsin. In the fourth, Alastre had an RBI triple with Fischer crushing a two-run home run to right for an 9-2 lead.
The Chiefs took advantage of a bout of wildness from Rattlers reliever Jose Nova in the bottom of the fourth inning. Three walks, a throwing error, and seven wild pitches by Nova allowed three runs to score and cut Wisconsin’s lead to 9-5.
The Rattler bats went right back to work.
In the sixth inning, Fischer and Bitonti singled to start the inning. Josiah Ragsdale drove in Fischer with a single. Luis Castillo doubled to score Bitonti and Ragsdale for the 13-5 lead.
In the seventh, Fischer had a runner on base and needed a double for the cycle. Instead, he crushed a home run out of the stadium to right field for a 15-5 lead.
The Chiefs chipped away with a two-out, RBI single by Josh Kross in the seventh, and a two-out, two-run home run by Tai Peete in the eighth. They would get no closer.
Bitonti was at the plate in the top of the ninth inning and needed a triple for the cycle. He drilled a pitch off the top of the wall in right, but the carom dropped down to Peete and Bitonti had to settle for his second double of the game.
The Timber Rattlers collected nineteen hits in the game, the most by the team since the franchise moved to the High-A Classification prior to the 2021 season.
Bitonti became the first Timber Rattlers to have five hits in game since Sal Frelick, who have five in a game against the Quad Cities River Bandits on April 20, 2022.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They will be back in action on Tuesday night at Neuroscience Group Field against the South Bend Cubs. Wande Torres (2-1, 6.35) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Game time is 6:40pm.
Celebrate health care professionals and education professionals with the first Nurses Night and Teacher Appreciation Game of the homestand on Tuesday night. Fans who are nurses or teachers will receive a reserved bleacher ticket or a grass seat for $4 with a current ID. Nurses Night tickets are made possible by ThedaCare.
Saturday’s game
Marco Dinges drove in four runs for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Saturday night at Dozer Park against the Peoria Chiefs. His two-out, three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning capped a five-run rally for the Rattlers to send them to a 7-5 victory over the Chiefs.
Peoria (14-17) had the lead two batters into the bottom of the first inning. Tai Peete doubled to start the frame. Rainiel Rodriguez drove in Peete with a bloop single to right for the 1-0 advantage.
Wisconsin (18-12) tied the game in the third. Luiyin Alastre singled with one out. Braylon Payne doubled to send Alastre to third. Dinges knocked in Alastre with a grounder to second.
The Chiefs went back in front in the bottom of the third. Tre Richardson reached on a bunt single as the lead-off batter and stole second as Wisconsin pitcher Ethan Dorchies struck out Rodriguez for the second out. Jesús Báez lined the next pitch to left for an RBI single to score Richardson.
Dorchies retired eight batters in a row from third inning through the first batter of the sixth. That streak ended when he hit Cade McGee with one out in the sixth. A single by Jesús Suárez put two runners on base for the Chiefs. Then, Won-Bin Cho hit the next pitch off the batter’s eye above the wall in center for a 5-1 lead.
The Rattlers responded in the top of the sixth. Daniel Dickinson drew a lead-off walk against reliever Gerardo Salas. Luis Castillo lined a homer to left, his second home run of the season, to pull Wisconsin to within two runs. David Garcia and Alastre both singled with one out to set the stage for Dinges, who stepped to the plate with two outs.
Dinges jumped on the first pitch from Salas and hit a towering drive to right that easily cleared the fence for a three-run blast and a 6-5 Wisconsin lead. The homer was the fifth of the season for Dinges. It was his first since April 26.
Alastre added an insurance run in the top of the eighth when he drew a bases-loaded walk. Not that the Wisconsin bullpen needed an insurance run.
Quinton Low, who got the final out of the bottom of the sixth, pitched a perfect seventh and a perfect eighth. Yerlin Rodriguez, in his first save opportunity of the season, struck out the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game.
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