Wisconsin Drops Series Finale in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, IN – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers fell behind the South Bend Cubs early on Sunday night at Four Winds Field and could never climb back into the game as they missed a big opportunity and lost 8-3 in the final game of the six-game set. The Rattlers had won the first four games against the Cubs but lost the final two games to fall back to five games under .500.

Boxscore

Scoring Plays

South Bend (12-33) scored three times in the third inning after two outs to take the lead. Wisconsin starting pitcher Jaron DeBerry, in his Timber Rattlers debut, had allowed singles to Jefferson Rojas and Cristian Hernandez with one out before he got the second out on a liner to left. Then, Drew Bowser lined a single to center knock in Rojas with the first run of the game. The Cubs would pull a double steal to get two runners into scoring position and Reginald Preciado delivered both runners with a single to left on a 1-2 pitch for a 3-0 lead.

Hernandez added an RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth inning against reliever Patricio Aquino.

Wisconsin (20-25) struggled to get anything going against South Bend starting pitcher Kenten Egbert through the first five innings. Egbert entered the game with an 0-5 record and an ERA of 8.00. Plus, he had an ERA of 11.25 in his three previous starts this month.

That changed in the sixth as the Rattlers loaded the bases with no outs on a single by Jadher Areinamo, a double by Eduardo Garcia, and a walk to Blake Burke to end Egbert’s night.

Joe Nahas entered from the Cubs bullpen and got two quick outs on a strikeout and a popup. Then, he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Areinamo to score and walked Juan Baez to reload the bases before ending the inning on a flyout.

Tanner Shears took over for the Rattlers on the mound for the bottom of the sixth inning. He hit Ariel Armas in the helmet with one out. Brian Kalmer reached on an error. Rafael Morel was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded. Shears walked Rojas to force in pinch-runner Miguel Pabon and threw a wild pitch that scored Kalmer. Hernandez knocked in Morel with an infield single and the Cubs were cruising with a 7-1 lead.

Wisconsin tried to get back some momentum in the top of the seventh inning as Luiyin Alastre drew a lead-off walk against Marino Santy, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a ground out, and scored on another wild pitch. Areinamo also drew a walk and would score from second on a two-out single by Burke to make the score 7-3.

That hit by Burke was Wisconsin’s only hit with runners in scoring position in the game. They stranded nine runners and went 1-for-10.

Hernandez, the #11 prospect in the Chicago Cubs minor league system, wrapped the scoring with an RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth. Hernandez was 4-for-5 with three RBI on Sunday. He had been 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts in the first five games of the series.

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday night when they host the Peoria Chiefs in game one of a six-game series at Neuroscience Group Field. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher José Quintana is scheduled to make a rehabilitation appearance as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Peoria has named Jose Davila (2-2, 7.01) as their starter. Game time is 6:40pm CDT.

Tuesday is a Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance/101.1 WIXX Bang for Your Buck Night. All fans may enjoy Nathan’s Famous hotdogs and 16-ounce Pepsi Products for $2. Those of legal drinking age may purchase 16-ounce domestic beers for $2.

If you can’t make it to the ballpark for the game on Tuesday, there are several ways to follow the action. The game will be televised on tv-32 starting at 6:30pm. The radio broadcast on AM1280, WNAM and internet audio starts with the pregame show at 6:20pm. The game is also available MiLB.tv and Bally Sports Live.