Gatewood Takes One For the Team in Walkoff HBP

GRAND CHUTE, WI - Jake Gatewood had a pair of big RBI to help the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeat the Beloit Snappers 3-2 in ten innings on Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Gatewood's first RBI came in a traditional manner with a two-out single to tie the game in the eighth. Gatewood was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to knock in the winning run for the Rattlers.

Beloit (53-72 overall, 21-35 second half) took the lead in the first inning. Luis Barrera and Trent Gilbert hit back-to-back doubles with one out to put the Snappers up 1-0.

Juan Ortiz tied the game when he launched a leadoff homer over the beach beyond the wall in right-center in the Rattlers half of the third inning. The home run was the second of the season for Ortiz and it evened the score 1-1.

The Snappers went back in front in the top of the fifth inning. Jesus Lopez singled to start the inning. He moved to second and third on consecutive infield grounders. A wild pitch on a 1-2 offering from Matt Smith to Barrera went to the backstop to score Lopez for a 2-1 lead.

Wisconsin (62-64, 28-28) had runners at second and third with one out in the fifth inning and loaded the bases in the seventh inning, but could not score.

The bottom of the eighth inning seemed to be heading to another scoreless frame for the Wisconsin offense, but Isan Diaz kept the inning alive with a two-out double off the wall in left. Gatewood was next and he drove a single through the right side of the infield on the first pitch he saw from Tyler Willman to send Diaz racing home with the tying run.

Reliever Jordan Yamamoto held the Snappers where they were at over his four innings of work. The right-hander came on in the top of the seventh inning and retired the first eleven batters he faced. Trace Loehr snapped that streak with a two-out triple in the top of the tenth inning, but Yamamoto got the final out of the inning. He struck out five over four innings and would pick up the win when the offense got to Andrew Tomasovich in the bottom of the tenth.

Tomasovich had pitched 6-1/3 scoreless innings over four previous appearances against the Rattlers this season, the left-hander would not record an out in the tenth. Trent Clark started the game-winning rally with a bloop double to left field. Luis Aviles drew a walk and Diaz was hit by a pitch to bring Gatewood to the plate. Gatewood was plunked on a 1-1 pitch to send Clark home with the winning run. The victory allowed the Rattlers to take two of three from the Snappers in the series. They have won five of their last seven games.

Wisconsin's bullpen was outstanding in the series with the Snappers. The relievers totaled 16-1/3 innings over the three-game series and allowed just two runs.

In the second half Western Division Wild Card race, the Burlington Bees beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 9-0 and the Quad Cities River Bandits lost 9-3 to Kane County. The Bees are 29-27 and currently hold the Wild Card spot. The Rattlers are 28-28 and trail the Bees by a game. The River Bandits are 27-29 and trail the Bees by two games. There are 15 games left in the regular season. The Bees start a four-game series with Kane County at home and the River Bandits head to Cedar Rapids to start a four-game series tomorrow.

The Timber Rattlers begin a four-game series with the Peoria Chiefs, who qualified for the playoffs as the first half champions of the Western Division, on Monday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jordan Desguin (0-1, 2.13) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jake Woodford (5-5, 2.88) is set to start for the Chiefs. Game time is 7:05pm.

Timber Rattlers outfielder and Brewers prospect Monte Harrison gets his own bobblehead and the first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive one courtesy of Ansay & Associates. Sid the Science Kid from the PBS Kids' Show will be at this game to meet with his fans.

Teenagers may purchase a reserved seat for $3 or a $10 ticket that includes four of the following five food and beverage items: Hotdog, 10-ounce soda, Nachos with Cheese, Small Popcorn, and Cotton Candy as part of Teen Night presented by Tutor Doctor - Fox Valley.

Purchase an entrée at any Qdoba location in Appleton, Neenah, or Oshkosh for lunch on Monday and receive a FREE ticket to this game as part of Qdoba Q*Monday presented by NASH-FM 99.5 & 104.9.

If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to catch the action. MyNEW 32'sSports Showdown will televise the game starting at 7:00pm. The radio broadcast is on 1280 AM, WNAM starting with the pregame show at 6:45pm. The game is also available on the internet through IHeartRadio, TuneIn, and MiLB.TV.