Timber Rattlers drop Dragons 8-1

DAYTON, OH - Devin Williams allowed one run on two hits over six innings and was backed by a 14-hit attack from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers offense in an 8-1 win over the Dayton Dragons Thursday night at Fifth Third Field.

Wisconsin (19-41) grabbed the lead in the first inning. Brandon Diaz singled with one out and Elvis Rubio doubled to put runners at second and third. Dustin DeMuth drove in Diaz with a grounder to second.

The Rattlers added to their lead in the second inning. Carlos Leal, Jake Gatewood, and Tucker Neuhaus started the second with consecutive singles to load the bases. Monte Harrison followed with a double off the wall in right to drive in Leal and Gatewood. The throw to the infield got away and that allowed Neuhaus to score and Harrison to take third base. Sthervin Matos made it 5-0 with a sacrifice fly that scored Harrison.

DeMuth doubled to start the Wisconsin third inning. Leal drove in DeMuth with a one-out single and Wisconsin's lead reached 6-0.

Wisconsin starting pitcher Devin Williams retired the first ten batters he faced in the game. He walked Luis Gonzalez with one out in the fourth. A bloop single by Gavin LaValley on a hit-and-run put Gonzalez to third base. Brian O'Grady drove in Gonzalez with a sacrifice fly to left to get the Dragons (31-29) on the scoreboard.

Williams pitched six innings for the Timber Rattlers. The only other hit he allowed was a two-out bunt single by Jimmy Pickens in the fifth inning. Williams walked one and struck out four to put himself in line for his second straight win.

Wisconsin padded their advantage with a run in the top of the seventh inning. Francisco Castillo singled with two outs and moved to second on a balk. Leal singled, his third hit of the night, to drive in Castillo for a 7-1 lead.

The Dragons put two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Joshua Torres, but Paul Kroenenfeld hit a line drive at Tucker Neuhaus, who was able to turn an unassisted double play by stepping on second base. In the eight, Dayton had runners at first and third with one out against Torres, but the Wisconsin reliever got LaValley to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Wisconsin plated one more run in the game. Rubio doubled, his third double of the game, to start the ninth inning. He would score on an two-out error later in the inning.

Josh Uhen, the Rattlers third pitcher of the night, allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth. He would retire the next three batters to close out the game.

The Timber Rattlers collected fourteen hits in the game to match their season-high hit total. The Timber Rattlers also had five doubles in the game.

Game three of the series is Friday night at Fifth Third Field. Cy Sneed (2-7, 2.41) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Dayton will send Tejay Antone (3-5, 2.73) to the mound. Game time is 6:07pm CDT.   Catch the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 5:45pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can follow the action that way.

WP: Devin Williams (2-3)
LP: Jose Morillo (1-1)

TIME: 2:35
ATTN: 8,635