Mehring Monday 6/1: Sweep
I'm sure that you may have heard by now that the
Timber Rattlers recorded their first ever sweep at West Michigan this past
weekend.
Time for a look back in the history books for the
most recent times the Timber Rattlers have swept opponents on the road.
Now, keep in mind that some of the records used for this column only go back
to 2000. If you spot a glaring error that is not an obvious typo, let me
know.
Beloit: This was not an easy sweep at
Pohlman Field for the 2001 Timber Rattlers. Well, game one and game two
were kind of easy. Derrick Van Dusen pitched seven shutout innings and
struck out seven on July 25. Clint Nageotte struck out 10 over seven
innings and allowed one run on July 26. But, July 27 saw the Rattlers
down 4-0 heading into the top of the sixth. That's when the Rattlers
scored four times to tie the game. Then, Jake Daubert and Sheldon Fulse
drove in runs in the tenth for a 6-4 win.
That was just an appetizer for the game on July
28. Wisconsin scored five runs in the top of the sixth
inning to go up 8-5. Then, Beloit scored twice in the sixth and once in
the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 8-8. Joe Dusan hit a
pinch-hit homer in the top of the tenth, but the Snappers tied the game in the
bottom of the tenth on a throwing error by Dusan. In the eleventh, Dusan
drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run. Then, Derrick Gutierrez was
hit by a pitch to force in another run and Roy Wells finished off the 11-9 win
and the four-game sweep of the Snappers.
Burlington: Records dating back to 2000 do
not show a sweep at Community Field. Perhaps you can help fill in blanks
going back to 1995?
Cedar Rapids: Records dating back to 2000 do not
show a sweep at Cedar Rapids. In 2000, the Rattlers won the first three
games of a series from July 28-July 31. The Rattlers won the first three
games, but lost 11-10 in the final game. Perhaps you can help fill in
blanks going back to 1995?
Clinton: Now, this isn't really fair.
But, life isn't fair. It was a sweep in a two-game series in April
because of a rain out on the last day of the series. But, the 2003
Rattlers beat the LumberKings 14-13 in 11 innings in the first game on April
28 and 5-1 in the second game on April 29. When talking about sweeps of
the LumberKings, I prefer to bring up the season sweep in 2001 when the
Rattlers went a perfect 12-0 against Clinton.
Dayton: The 2002 Rattlers were, let's face it, not
very good. They finished with a record of 53-86 and went through a lot
of players. But, for four beautiful days in Dayton, Ohio they could not
be beat. The first game was on May 28 and Wisconsin won 6-3 in 13
innings. They won the next day 11-7 and finished off the sweep with wins
of 4-3 and 4-2.
Fort Wayne: Records dating back to 2000 do not
show a sweep at Fort Wayne. They do show a lot of near sweeps, but no
sweeps. Perhaps you can help fill in blanks going back to 1995?
Great Lakes: Hey, the Loons have only been around
since 2007. Wisconsin is 3-5 over in Midland.
Kane County: The 2005 Timber Rattlers made
it through to the Midwest League Championship Series. That was also the
last team to sweep the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium. The Rattlers went in
there for a four-game series from May 23 through May 26 and won them all.
Lansing: A Rattler sweep has never happened
at Oldsmobile Park. In fact, 2008 was the first year in which the Timber
Rattlers won a series there. Small steps.
Peoria: Right before the 2003 All-Star Break
Wisconsin went to O'Brien Field and swept four games from the Chiefs.
Dave Viane and Bryan Heaston saved the final two games of that series from
July 11 through July 14.
Quad Cities: Earlier in the second half, the
2003 Rattlers went into the old John O'Donnell Stadium and won all four
games of a series from the..let's see...were they the SWING,
yet...nope...still the River Bandits. The winning pitchers for the
Timber Rattlers from June 30 through July 3 in the series at Quad Cities were
Tanner Watson, Bobby Livingston, Juan Sandoval, and Oscar Delgado.
South Bend: Records dating back to 2000 do
not show a sweep at The Cove. Perhaps you can help fill in blanks going
back to 1995?
West Michigan: Um....let me think....May 29
through 31, 2009?
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