The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are in first place in the West Division after Sunday’s 9-5 victory over the Beloit Sky Carp at Neuroscience Group Field. It wasn’t easy as Beloit cut Wisconsin’s comfortable 4-0 lead to one run with three runs in the sixth. Wisconsin responded with a five-run bottom of the sixth that included a grand slam from Luis Castillo that propelled them to the win.
Daniel Dickinson continued his hot streak to give Wisconsin (48-34 overall, 14-6 second half) the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Dickinson doubled to left to score Blayberg Diaz and send Braylon Payne to third base.
Beloit starting pitcher Brayan Mendoza walked Eric Bitonti to load the bases before he got the first out of the inning. Mendoza would walk Castillo and Tyler Rodriguez on eight pitches to force in Payne and Bitonti for a 3-0 lead.
Ethan Dorchies, the Wisconsin starter, worked a perfect fifth inning and finished the frame with his eighth strikeout. Dorchies went five scoreless innings, walked one, hit a batter, and allowed three hits.
Dickinson reached on an error in the bottom of the fifth and scored on a single by Tayden Hall.
The Sky Carp (40-45, 13-7) rallied against Yerlin Rodriguez in the top of the sixth. Two singles and a walk by the first three batters loaded the bases for Beloit. Emilio Barreras doubled off the wall in left to drive in two runs. Rodriguez got the first out with a strikeout, but a walk reloaded the bases. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart flew out to the corner in left for a sacrifice fly to pull Beloit two within a run.
Chandler Welch entered the game for Rodriguez and got the final out of the frame.
The bottom of the sixth looked like it would be over quickly as Beloit reliever Luis De La Cruz retired the first two batters he faced. Then, De La Cruz walked Payne, Dickinson, and Bitonti to load the bases. Hall drew a fourth consecutive walk to force in a run and send De La Cruz out of the game.
Cannon Pickell took over for De La Cruz and got ahead of Castillo with two quick strikes. Pickell missed with the next three pitches to run the count full. Castillo crushed the payoff pitch 424-feet off the hitting background beyond the wall in center for a grand slam and a 9-3 lead.
Beloit stole a run on a throwing error in the seventh and added another run on one-out, back-to-back doubles by Colby Shade and Jenkins-Cowart in the eighth against Welch.
Michael Fowler relieved Welch and issued a walk and a single to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Fowler denied the Sky Carp the comeback with an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. He also tossed a perfect ninth to close out the game.
Castillo’s grand slam was the fifth of the season for the Timber Rattlers. The last time Wisconsin hit five slams in a season was 2021. The franchise record for grand slams in a season is seven by the 2014 team.
The Timber Rattlers head into the four-day All-Star Break with a one-game lead over the Sky Carp in the second half West Division standings. Sunday’s win earned Wisconsin a split in the six-game series with Beloit. The in-state rivals have each one four games out of the eight games in the season series. The Sky Carp will host the Timber Rattlers in two six-game series at ABC Supply Stadium later this season. Those series will be August 4-9 and September 1-6. The September series is the final series of the regular season.
The Timber Rattlers are back in action on Friday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Neuroscience Group Field. Game time is 6:40pm.
