Snappers strike it big in the fifth inning

BELOIT, WI - The Beloit Snappers broke a 2-2 tie with a big eight run fifth inning and cruised to a 10-5 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Thursday afternoon at Pohlman Field. Andy Leer hit a three-run homer in the frame as the Rattlers dropped their second straight game.

Tobias Streich put the Snappers (16-9) up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth. His two-run homer to center came off Rattlers starting pitcher Del Howell.

Wisconsin (10-14) rallied to tie the game in the top of the fifth inning. Tony Pechek doubled to start the inning. One out later, Nick Shaw singled to drive in Pechek. Cody Hawn doubled to send Shaw home to even the game 2-2.

But, the bottom of the fifth was not good for the Rattlers bullpen. Beloit sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight times to go up 10-2. Daniel Britt started the inning and allowed all five batters he faced to reach base. Jamaal Hawkins singled to start the onslaught. An RBI double by Nate Roberts put Beloit in front 3-2. A four pitch walk to Michael Gonzales was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Daniel Ortiz and a three run homer by Andrew Leer.

The long ball by Leer knocked Britt out of the game and brought Tyler Cravy on in relief. But, the Snappers continued to hit. Streich greeted Cravy with a single. Wan Wei Lin followed with a single. Gunner Glad doubled in both runners. Daniel Santana would double in Glad to make the score 10-2.

The Rattlers chipped away at the edges with a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Franklin Romero drove in all three runs. His RBI grounder in the sixth sent Robbie Garvey home. In the seventh, Romero's two-run double extended his hitting streak to nine games.

But, that was a close as the Rattlers would get.

Robbie Garvey and Nick Shaw each had three hits for the Rattlers offense. Damon Krestalud (2IP) and Eric Marzec (IP) worked the final three innings without allowing a run.

Wisconsin wraps up their road trip on Friday night with the final game of the series at Pohlman Field. Jimmy Nelson (0-2, 4.74) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Beloit will send Manuel Soliman (0-0, 5.19) to the mound. Game time is 6:30pm.

Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting at 6:10pm.

HOME RUNS:

BEL: Tobias Streich (1st, 1 on in 4th inning, off Del Howell, 0 out)
Andy Leer (1st, 2 on in 5th inning, off Daniel Britt, 0 out)

WP: Blayne Weller (3-0)
LP: Daniel Britt (2-1)

TIME: 3:01
ATTN: 574