Rattlers Close Out Series at Fort Wayne with Shutout Win

FORT WAYNE, IN – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers closed out their series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Parkview Field in style on Sunday. Wisconsin defeated the TinCaps 8-0 as the offense stayed hot in support of solid pitching. Braylon Payne (2-for-5, homer, double, two RBI) and Marco Dinges (3-for-5, homer, double, three RBI) continued their onslaught against Fort Wayne pitching.

Boxscore

Luis Castillo gave Wisconsin (13-6) the lead with a lead-off home run in the top of the third.

That crush came courtesy of Luis Castillo 💥🤝

Wisconsin 1 | Fort Wayne 0 #tratnation pic.twitter.com/7Dy6ZVtKaz

— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) April 26, 2026

Later in the inning, Payne and Dinges had back-to-back RBI doubles for a 3-0 lead.

Payne & Dinges brining some double trouble today⚾️⚾️ @payne_braylon @MarcoDinges

Back-to-back RBI doubles make it 3-0 Rattlers! #tratnation pic.twitter.com/cjqWJZQcwn

— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) April 26, 2026

The Rattlers were gifted a run in the fifth inning. Juan Baez was at second after reaching on an error with one out. Dinges hit a high popup to right-center with two out and the ball dropped in between three Fort Wayne defenders for an RBI single as Baez crossed the plate.

Wisconsin stole a run in the sixth. Daniel Dickinson was at first and Josh Adamczewski was at third with two outs. Dickinson drew a throw as he successfully stole second and Adamczewski stole home on the throw for a 5-0 lead.

Payne and Dinges hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning for a 7-0 lead. It was the second time in the series for the duo to hit back-to-back homers. As a team, Wisconsin mashed eleven homers in the six-game series with the TinCaps to run their season total to 26.

DOUBLE TROUBLE STRIKES...AGAIN! BACK-TO-BACK HOME RUNS...AGAIN! 🔙2⃣🔙 @payne_braylon @MarcoDinges

Wisconsin 7 | Fort Wayne 0 #tratnation pic.twitter.com/JWvK0dVvyf

— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) April 26, 2026

Payne extended his current hitting streak to seven games (12-for-27, .444). He played in five games of the series at Fort Wayne and was 9-for-20 with two doubles, four homers, eight runs scored, and seven RBI. He is also tied with Owen Ayers of South Bend for the league lead in homers (6).

Dinges homered twice and knocked in seven in his five games during the series.

Fort Wayne (7-14) struggled to get anything going against a quartet of Wisconsin pitchers on Sunday. Jason Woodward allowed one hit and one walk over 1-2/3 innings as the starter. Bjorn Johnson also allowed a hit and a walk in 1-1/3 scoreless frames. Travis Scott faced the minimum in five innings of relief. The only hit he allowed, a lead-off single in the sixth was wiped out on a double play. Michael Fowler allowed two harmless singles with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before getting the final out of the game.

Wisconsin took five of six games as they outscored the TinCaps 46-17 in the series at Fort Wayne.

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday at Neuroscience Group Field with game one of a six-game series against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Ethan Dorchies (1-2, 7.04) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Game time is 6:40pm.

Celebrate Northeast Wisconsin on Tuesday with “920 Night” where Box seats, Reserved Bleacher seats, or Grass seats are $9, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, 16-ounce Pepsi products, and 16-ounce domestic beers will be available for $2 and popcorn is free ($0)! Staff, students, and faculty of area colleges may purchase a reserved bleacher ticket for $4 with a current ID. Order College Night tickets in advance at this link.

If you can’t make it to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow the action. The radio broadcast starts with the Community Blood Center Pregame show at 6:20pm on News Talk 93.9 and 1490AM WOSH and internet audio. The television broadcast on The Spot Green Bay 32 starts at 6:30pm. The broadcast is also available on Bally Sports Live.