Clark & Hairston Push Rattlers Past Peoria

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers received big offensive days from Zach Clark and Devin Hairston to collect a 9-5 win over the Peoria Chiefs Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Clark was a double shy of the cycle and drove in three runs and Hairston knocked in four runs for the victors.
Clark and Brent Diaz started the scoring for Wisconsin with home runs in the second   Clark launched a long drive off the top of the new videoboard beyond the wall in left-center for his second home run of the season. Diaz cracked a liner over the wall in left with two outs for his first professional home run and a 2-0 lead.

The Rattlers (7-16) blew the game open with a five-run third inning. They loaded the bases against Peoria starting pitcher Winston Nicacio with one out on a single, a hit batsman, and a walk. Gilbert Lara and Clark chased Nicacio from the game with consecutive RBI singles to put Wisconsin up 4-0.

Devin Hairston welcomed reliever Cory Malcom to the game with a three-run double to right that gave the Rattlers a 7-0 advantage.

Wisconsin starting pitcher Nelson Hernández gave up two runs in the fourth inning on two-run single by Scott Hurst. He also allowed a run in the fifth inning on a single by Julio Rodriguez. Hernández scattered nine hits and three walks over five innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Clark and Hairston added to the Wisconsin lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Clark had an RBI triple before Hairston drove in Clark with a single for a 9-3 lead.

Michael Petersen entered the game in relief of Hernández and tossed three shutout innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 14-2/3 innings at the start of the 2018 season.

Clark needed a double in his final at bat of the game to become the first Timber Rattlers player to hit for the cycle, but the attempt fell short when he struck out in the eighth. Clark had been 1-for-12 on the homestand before breaking through with his big day on Sunday.

Hairston, who joined the Rattlers on Friday from extended spring training in Arizona, is 4-for-12 with six RBI in the three games he has played this season.

The Chiefs (10-11) scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Juan Yepez and another RBI single by Rodriguez.

The win allowed the Rattlers to claim a series victory over the Chiefs. Wisconsin won two of the three games in the weekend series with Peoria. This marks the first series win for the Rattlers this season.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday with the first game of a six-game road trip. The journey begins against the Lake County Captains at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio. First pitch on Tuesday is 5:30pm CDT. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino Pregame Show at 6:10pm. The broadcast is also available on the Tune In and IHeart Radio apps.