Cornielle Tosses A Gem for Wisconsin in Shutout Win

DAVENPORT, IA – Alexander Cornielle’s last time on the mound for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers was May 4 at home against the Great Lakes Loons and he tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Cornielle returned to the mound at Modern Woodmen Park against the Quad Cities River Bandits one week later and went seven scoreless frames with seven strikeouts to lead the Rattlers to a 2-0 victory.

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Scoring was at a premium on Saturday night, and it would be the Rattlers (20-12) who struck first. Dylan O’Rae tripled to center to start the Wisconsin fourth inning. Gregory Barrios drove in O’Rae with a sacrifice fly to put the Rattlers in front on the scoreboard.

The River Bandits (19-13) had runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning against Cornielle. The right-hander got the second out on a routine fly to Luis Lara in centerfield. The final out was a bit more difficult as Lara raced back to the warning track to make a leaping catch on a line drive off the bat of Justin Johnson.

Henry Williams, the River Bandits starter, was almost as good as Cornielle. Williams allowed one run on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Wisconsin got an insurance run in the top of the seventh after Williams left the game. Jheremy Vargas doubled to start the inning against Cooper McKeehan. Eduarqui Fernández followed with a double to left to send Vargas across the plate for a 2-0 lead. That would turn out to be more than enough for the Rattlers. However, the added cushion left a little wiggle room.

Cornielle got the first out of the seventh inning on his seventh strikeout. However, an infield single by Jared Dickey brought the tying run to the plate. Cornielle didn’t buckle. He got Dustin Dickerson to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Alexander Cornielle was on tonight against Quad Cities! https://t.co/GrHHjJbUP1 via @milb

— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) May 12, 2024

Craig Yoho was called into the game for the bottom of the eighth to protect the lead for the Rattlers. He gave up a lead-off single to bring the tying run to the plate. Yoho, who pitched three scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn the save in game one of the series on Tuesday, stayed calm and got the next batter to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Yoho ended the inning with a strikeout to send the game to the ninth with the Rattlers still up 2-0.

In the bottom of the ninth, Yoho retired the side in order, including the last two via the strikeout to close out his fifth save of the season.

Cornielle is 2-0 in his last two starts as he has tossed thirteen scoreless innings with thirteen strikeouts. In the game against the Bandits, he allowed two hits and walked three to earn his third win of the season. No River Bandit base runner past second base in the game.

Additionally, the Timber Rattlers defense was flawless again. Wisconsin has not committed an error in nine consecutive games. The Rattlers have only been charged with two errors in the last fifteen games.

The series finale is Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. Edwin Jimenez (4-0, 5.74) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities will send Shane Panzini (1-0, 4.34) to the mound as their starter. Game time is 1:00pm. radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 12:40pm. Fans can also listen to the audio on the internet or watch the game on the Bally Live App.

Wisconsin has a 3-2 lead in the series with Quad Cities. Wisconsin has also opened a one-game lead on the River Bandits in the West Division of the Midwest League. Sunday’s game marks the halfway point of the first half of the season.

The Timber Rattlers return home on Tuesday to begin a six-game series with the Beloit Sky Carp at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Details for the promotions during the series between the in-state rivals are available at this link.